Where in Hate, blooms Love?
by VampireKitten17
Summary: Okay. This is an rp between me and my best friend so be warned. It is full of smut and headcannon and yeah... So that is your warning.
1. Chapter 1

Brand new day, Tavros said to himself, looking at the door in front of him. He pouted as he opened the door, wheeling into the room, looking at the class who looked back at him.

Gamzee sat in the back of the classroom, a bottle of Faygo on his desk. "New kid!" He smiled.

Tavros talked to the teacher for a bit before moving over to the corner of the room, digging in his bag for a pencil, his horns bumping into the edge of his chair.

Soon, it was lunch time. Gamzee sauntered over to the new kid. "Hi, I'm Gamzee. Who are you motherfucker?"

"Uh..." Tavros blinked, frowning a little bit while digging in his bag.

"You seem like a cool motherfucker."

"Uhh..." He looked at him with big brown eyes. "T-Thanks!" he said, smiling

"What's your name, bro?" Gamzee smiled back

"Tavros Nitram." he said softly, smiling, his hair flopping into his eyes. "And you're... Gamzee?" he smiled. "Such a cool name."

"Thanks. I think I'll call you Tavbro..." Gamzee sat down in the desk by the boy.

Tavbro had a nice ring to it. He smiled, shifting a little bit in his chair. "So..." he tapped his chin, pushing his hair out of his face.

"Do you want some Faygo? Faygo is awesome!" Gamzee said before taking a drink from his bottle

Tavros leaned over and looked at the drink. "Looks good. Can I have some?"

"Sure. Here." Gamzee smiled and handed the bottle to Tavros.

Tavros took the bottle, taking a sip. "Oooh.." he grinned, giggling a little bit. "Uhh, Yum."

"Faygo is motherfucking awesome!" Gamzee leaned back in the desk, taking another swig from the bottle.

Tavros blinked at him, feeling his face flush. "So uh..." he looked down, wiggling a little in his wheelchair.

"Let's go for a spin. I can show ya around like that!" Gamzee stood and climbed onto the back of the wheelchair, pushing off with his foot.

Tavros gasped, holding onto the handles for dear life. "W-WAAH!" he cried out, looking up at Gamzee. "S-Slow down u-UH"

"But this is fun." He smiled as they took a sharp turn. "Coming through!" He yelled as they entered a people filled hallway.

"L-LAAAAAAAAHHH!" he screamed, holding on tight, feeling the edge of the chair lift up. "Please be careful"

"We're fine! I do stuff like this a lot!" Gamzee smiled. "Move Sollux!" He cheered.

Sollux stood in the middle of the hall, staring down at the wheelchair coming flying at him. His eyes went wide. He was trampled, looking at the pair. "What the fuck guyth..." He said with a heavy lisp.

"Sucks to be you motherfucker!" Gamzee yelled as they sped down the hall. "This room to the right is the make shit blow up room."

"W-Wha?" he looked at Tavros. "N-No... That's crazy... Why are we going in there?"

Gamzee looked down at Tavros. "Because that room is a Miracle maker..."

"Mi...racles?" Tavros said, looking at him. "Uh... Can I have some more Faygo? I'm parched."

"Motherfucking miracles man..." Gamzee said. "Here ya go Tavbro."

He took a drink, smiling a little. "Thanks Gam." he said, looking at him. "So... What's in this room?"

"Stuff that makes miracles..." He said. "Cool motherfucking shit man."

"Uh... Gamzee, this is a chemistry room..." Tavros said softly, looking at Gamzee, his eyes going wide.

Sollux collected himself from the hallway, picking up his books and brushing off his clothes. "Fucking atthhole..." he said, frowning. He grumbled and walked to the computer lab.

"With this stuff you can make slime and slime is a motherfucking miracle. Honk." Gamzee said.

Karkat sat at his desk. "Great... The dickface has arrived." he huffed when Sollux walked into the classroom.

"Slime?" Tavros asked, blinking, his big brown eyes looking at him. "Is... It tasty?" he asked.

Sollux sighed, sitting down at one of the computers near Karkat, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"It's motherfucking delicious." Gamzee smiled. "I'll make some for you and then we can really chill."

"You look like you got trampled by the ugly train." Karkat spat.

Sollux looked over at Karkat, giving him a look of disgust. "Thup, Karkat." He grumbled, glaring through his colored glasses.

"I want some!" Tavros said, smiling.

"Cool." Gamzee said. "Why don't you come to my place later? I have lots of slime!"

"Absolutely nothing but trying to figure out why I even come to this hell hole of a school with all these stupid fuckasses." Karkat sighed. This was his best friend that he was talking to, the only person he felt semi comfortable with...

"Well maybe if you weren't thuch a dick all the time, you'd have more friendth." he frowned, typing on the keyboard.

Tavros grinned. "Okay!"

"Let's go now. I could really go for some slime right now." Gamzee smiled as he climbed back up onto the back of the wheelchair.

"At least I'm not a freak with multicolored eyes." Karkat looked away.

"Am... I... Uh... Like your own personal device for getting around or something?" Tavros asked, frowning at him.

Sollux glared at him. "Bitch." he said under his breath, glaring at him. "At least I'm not an atthhole." he said, continuing to type.

"No but this is fun. Don't cha think, man?" Gamzee smiled as he pushed off with his foot, sending the wheelchair flying out into the hallway.

"I'd rather be an asshole than a freak with a lisp." He spat before the teacher began to give out instructions.

Sollux looked at him and stuck out his tongue, which split down the middle. It was a kind of freaky home job that he did a long time ago, but he was proud of it. He grinned, settling down in his chair, typing at the computer.

Tavros gave a shriek of fear, but soon turned to delight as they went flying down the hallway.

"That thing in your mouth is creepy." Karkat whispered as he worked on the assignment. "At least pretend that you are a semi-normal troll..." He rolled his eyes.

Gamzee steered the wheelchair past the classroom and through the door. They eventually made it to his hive.

Sollux grinned. "Pthsh." he said, shrugging his shoulder. "Like I thaid." he grinned, "At least I'm not an atthhole." he smiled. "Just because I have a lithp, doesn't mean I'm not normal."

"No... It means you're a 2 obsessed nut job who decided that splitting his tongue would be a smart decision." Karkat glared at him, watching as those thin fingers run over the keys. He had always liked the way that Sollux moved his fingers...

"Pfftch." He said, rolling his eyes. "I'm perfectly happy with it." he said defiantly, working on the assignment.

"Wow Gamzee, your hive is kinda messy..." Tavros said, trying not to wheel over anything.

"Whatever you fuckass." Karkat said before turning his attention to the computer, working on the assignment.

"It's home." Gamzee smiled. "Peach Faygo and slime sound good?" Gamzee reached into the small cooling box, pulling out a two liter of Faygo and a pie pan.

Tavros nodded. "Yeah! That uh... Sounds great." he said, smiling.

Sollux continued his work before printing it out, finishing before everyone else.

He went and turned in his work, returning his seat. He kicked Karkat's chair on the way back.

"Have some of this motherfucking miracle." Gamzee smiled as he handed the pie pan to Tavros.

"Dick." Karkat spat as he continued to type.

Tavros smiled, gently picking up the pan, taking a bite. "Whoa..." he said softly, his eyes going wide.

Sollux grinned, walking back to his seat, going and searching for stuff online instead.

"Isn't it motherfucking amazing?" Gamzee asked as he opened the bottle of Faygo, taking a swig before handing it to Tavros.

Karkat typed for what seemed like ages before the assignment was complete. "Finally." He sighed as he sent the document to the printer.

Tavros took another sip of Faygo, grinning. "Whoa... Miracles..." he said softly, his voice slurred. "Mmm~"

Sollux watched him. "Thlowass." he said, grinning. "Learn to type fathter."

For the next couple hours, Gamzee and Tavros sat drinking Faygo and eating slime. Soon it became dark. "You should probably go back to your hive, Tavbro." Gamzee sighed.

"You're such a dick. Not everyone can be graceful with a computer like you, dickweed. I mean, look at Nepeta. She's still on the first half and class ends in 20 minutes..." Karkat sighed, watching Sollux's computer screen shift.

"I'm jutht better at everything. You jutht won't admit it." Sollux said, crossing his arms.

Tavros nodded, his eyes still huge. "Mm~ I'm so tired though. I don't know if I could get back there myself."

"Right... You do take first place in creepy bodymods..." Karkat glared.

"I'll help you out Tavbro. Now, where do you live?" Gamzee smiled as he put the bottle of Faygo back in the cooling box.

Sollux's grin faltered. "Atthhole." he said, glaring at him. "You're a bathard you know that?" he grumbled.

Tavros told him the location of his hive, hoping that Gamzee would get him there safely.

"I'm not a bathard." Karkat mocked him. "You are a creepy ath hell motherfucker." He grinned.

Gamzee pushed the wheelchair off, taking twists and turning easily. "Is that it up there? That little peanut butter colored place?"

"Yeah." Tavros said, nodding. "That's it."

Sollux glared, throwing his pencil at him. "Don't make fun of my listhp." he said, glaring. "Bitch."

"But itth fun to make fun of your lithp." Karkat grinned even wider.

"Sweet." Gamzee brought the wheelchair to a stop as they got closer. "Here ya go Tavbro." Gamzee said as he climbed off the wheelchair. "Dreams of miracles man."

"Dick." He almost shouted. The bell rang. "Meet me outhide, dick." he spat, turning and grabbing his stuff, walking out of the room.

Karkat rolled his eyes. What was the point of meeting Sollux outside? "Whatever." He sighed as he gathered his stuff.

Sollux stood outside, tapping his foot, waiting impatiently. "Thlowath." he said again, under his breath.

"Thank you, bro." he said, smiling up at Gamzee. "See you tomorrow?"

Karkat walked outside, finding Sollux with ease. "Let's get this over with." He sighed.

"Of course bro!" Gamzee smiled.

Sollux glared at him. "When will you thop making fun of me?" he said, clenching his fists. "It'th not funny."

"I think it's funny." Karkat smiled. "Bethideth, what are you going to do about it?"

"KK, thatsh mean." he said, crossing his arms. "Therth nothing I can do about it." he whispered. "You won't thop."

"Then why does it matter? You know how I am!" Karkat sighed. "Are we still friends?"

"I would attthume tho." Sollux said, looking up at him. "I jussth..." he shook his head. "Itth nothing."

Karkat looked at the ground. He had really hurt his friend but he didn't know how else to express his closeness with Sollux. "I'm sorry Sol..."

"You've never minded my tongue before now... Why do you keep bringing it up?"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!" Karkat yelled. Did Sollux know about those fucked up dreams that made him think he was crazy?

Sollux shrugged. "Do I look like I know?" he asked, looking at him. He pushed his glasses up on his nose again, blinking his two colored eyes. "Bethideth." he said, clearing his throat. "You don't have to yell."

"I don't know either..." Karkat sighed, looking at the ground again, a slight blush crossing his cheeks as he tried to not think of Sollux's tongue...

"Anyway..." Sollux began, clearing his throat again. "Wanna crath at my plathe?"

"Sure. Let's play some games." Karkat smiled as he and his best friend made their way to the multicolored hive.

Sollux made his way inside, looking at the multicolored walls. He moved over to his bed, sitting down on it, taking his glasses off. "I'm tho tired."

"Then go to sleep but I'm going to be playing games." Karkat sighed as he sat on the bed by his friend.

"You can play on my computer, but, you can't open any viritheths okay?" he said, curling up against the pillows.

"Sweet." Karkat smiled as he went over to the desktop, siting in the spinney chair. "Let me know if they get too bad." Karkat said softly as he opened the game.

"If what geths too bad?" he said, holding the pillow against him, rubbing his eyes. Sollux heard voices in his head due to some influence in the cosmos. It caused him to be almost completely sleep deprived all the time.

"The voices." Karkat said as he started to play. "I know how hard they make it for you to sleep..." He whispered.

"Yeah..." Sollux said, resting his head on the pillow. "Yeah..." he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Almost an hour into his rest, Sollux woke, rubbing his eyes. "Nnn fuck."

"You okay over there Sol?" Karkat asked, pausing the game. "Do you need anything?"

"Can't thleep." he said, sitting up, holding the pillow to his chest. It was late already, and he felt completely exhausted. "Tomorrow ith going to thuck."

"Move over." Karkat sighed as he walked over to the bed.

"Why." he said, scooting over a bit to let Karkat sit down. He blinked at Karkat with his one red and one blue eye. He knew that it creeped Karkat out, and even just the flitter of his tongue out of his mouth made Karkat twinge... At least somehow.

"Put your head here and try to sleep." Karkat sighed. "It makes it easier for me to help you like this..." He turned his gaze away from his friend.

"Umm..." He looked down at Karkat's lap. "I'll path." he said, laying with his head back on the pillow. "I'll be fine."

Karkat grabbed his friend by the shoulders, placing Sollux's head on his lap. "Don't move you fuckass." Karkat said as he began to run his fingers through Sollux's hair.

Sollux swatted at Karkat's hands. "Will you leave me alone?" he said, his eyes narrowing. "Thop..." he frowned. Karkat's hands felt really good... He closed his eyes after a moment, his body relaxing.

Karkat kept running his fingers through the black hair, a small smile on his lips as a candy red blush crept across his cheeks. "Good night Sol."

Sollux managed to sleep through most of the night. He awoke early, finding that Karkat had crashed next to him. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. How on earth had that happened? Karkat must have some magic fingers or something. That was the best he had slept in a long time.

Karkat stirred gently. "Nghh..." He whimpered, his legs asleep from Sollux sleeping on them.

"KK..." he nudged Karkat with his elbow. "KK, wake up." He rubbed his eyes, leaning over him. "KK."

Karkat opened his eyes half-way, still partially asleep. "Sol? Why are you at my hive?" He whispered, his consciousness not having fully returned from dream land.

"You're at mine dipthit." Sollux muttered, shifting. He yawned, his mouth opening wide, showing Karkat his split tongue, and half way down his throat. "Nn..." he rubbed his mouth. "I think I drooled last night."

Karkat sat up. "Ah... My brain isn't fully on yet..." He yawned, bringing his arms high above his head before leaning down, a quiet purr coming from his throat. "How did you sleep?" he asked before looking down at his pants. "You did drool... Great..." He glared at the wet spot by the knee on his pants.

"Okay I gueth." he said, rubbing his eyes, trying to rub the sleepies out of them. "I'm thill tired..."

"What time is it?"

Sollux looked over at the computer. "Thix thomething." he grumbled, flopping back down on the bed. "Tired..."

"School doesn't start till 9 so I'm going back to sleep." Karkat said as he curled back up into a ball before falling asleep again.

Sollux sighed and sat up. He watched Karkat fall back asleep. "Lucky..." he mumbled, getting up from the bed and going to his computer, sitting down and turning it on.

Karkat sighed in his sleep, the dream providing him with the warm thoughts of Sollux cuddling him. "Sol..." he whimpered before a purr escaped his lips as he slept.

Sollux felt his ears twitch, hearing his name. "KK, are you... Purring?" he got up, walking over to the bed. "What the fuck..." he got back on the bed, gently shaking Karkat.

"Ngh... Sol... Stop it..." Karkat whispered before his breath hitched in his throat. "Why..."

"KK, wake up." he said, feeling a headache start. "Nnn... Come on KK..."

Karkat jolted up right. "What?" He said as he looked at Sollux. "What happened?"

"You were purring in your sthleep. What were you dreaming about?" Sollux said, sitting back on the bed a little, holding his head.

Karkat's face turned bright red before he pushed his face into his knees. "It was just something stupid. I can't believe that I was... Purring..." He shuddered, everything in the dream running through his mind like a movie.

"Ah." he said, sitting back against the pillow. "I might not be at sthcool today..." he grumbled, holding his head. "Headache."

"Is it the voices again?" Karkat looked up, even though his face was still partially red. "I can stay with you if you want..." He put his head back between his knees.

"No." he said, rubbing his head. "I don't know what it is." he whispered, looking at him. "My head just hurts... And I'm really tired."

Karkat sighed bringing his hand behind Sollux's horns, gently running his fingers through. "I'm staying. I know how you get when your head starts to hurt. You need someone to take care of you."

Sollux twitched a bit uncomfortably. "Nn... Don't touch my hornth." he looked back at him, feeling a bit relieved for a brief moment. He grumbled and protested Karkat staying. "KK, you can go home."

"Too bad, Sol. I'm not leaving." He ran his fingers through Sollux's hair again. "Go back to sleep."

"I can't.." he mumbled, looking at him, his eyes sunken. "I can't, KK,..."

"Why not?" Karkat kept running his finger through the soft hair. "It's just us..." He sighed. "Plus, you need to sleep."

"I can't thleep." he sighed, looking at him. "If I thleep I'll... I don't know KK, I just can't."

"Just try. I'll have something yummy cooked for you when you wake up." Karkat tried to smile as best he could. He hoped that he looked like a smile…

"Don't thmile." Sollux mumbled, closing his eyes. "It'th creepy ath fuck."

"Fuckass." Karkat smirked as he ran his hands through Sollux's hair. He blushed as Sollux fell asleep beside him, breathing quietly.

His mind raved with words. He cringed and shivered, awaking with a shout. "Fuck off!"

Karkat looked over at the bed. "Sol?" He said quietly, sitting the pan back on the burner before making his way over to the bed. "You okay?"

"Fuck no." He grumbled, glaring at him. "Horrible dream..." he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Nnnn... My head hurtsth worthe..."

"Well, eat this. It might make you feel a little better." Karkat put some of the food on the plate and handed it to his friend. "What happened in the dream?"

"Just... Thtuff." he said, looking up at Karkat. "The voices. They were loud." he sighed and started eating. It had actually been a little while since he had actually eaten. He didn't want Karkat to know. He knew that he would freak out, and he would say something... He didn't want KK to get too close to him... He knew his ribs were exposed.

"They have been really bothering you lately huh... You were lighter than normal when you slept on me last night..." He turned away. "You know that you need to eat more."

"I don't need a lekture from you." he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm fine."

"They'll just get worse if you don't take care of yourself Sol!" Karkat yelled. "Fuck man!"

He grumbled, rolling onto his side. "Oh fuck off." he grumbled, curling up. "It'th not like you care anyway."

"YOU'RE MY BEST FUCKING FRIEND! OF COURSE I CARE! WHY ELSE WOULD I TAKE CARE OF YOUR STUPID ASS?" Karkat yelled. He kinda hated the fact that Sollux thought he didn't care about him. He tried to express himself but it always came out in yells and curse words.

Sollux grumbled. He knew somewhere inside of him that he was having a bipolar fit. He grumbled and grabbed his pillow, shoving his face into it. Any moment now he'd be upset. He could feel it.

Karkat sat on the edge of the bed. "Sol..." He whispered as he papped Sollux on the arm, shooshing him quietly.

"Just... Don't..." he said quietly, pulling his knees to his chest. "You know me... Just..."

"Shooooosh." Karkat kept papping his friend. "Shooooooooooooooosh."

"Theriously." Sollux muttered, glaring from behind his pillow. "Don't..."

"Then what do you want me to do?" Karkat asked. "Pet you again?" He gently rubbed the back of Sollux's head. "It puts you to sleep..."

"It puths me to thleep..." he mumbled again, looking at him. "Why?"

"Because you need to sleep." Karkat looked down at his friend, his hand running over the hair gently. "You need to eat more too."

Sollux looked at him. "Why are you thuch an athhh..." he sighed, laying his head against the pillow, purring softly.

"I'm not an ass you freak." Karkat spat. "That isn't how you should treat the person taking care of your stupid ass."

"Just thut up and pet me..." he grumbled, feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It felt good, and it relaxed him. He only just begged Karkat wouldn't touch his horns.

"Okay. Don't need to get all bitchy." Karkat sighed and continued petting his friend. After a few minutes, Karkat looked down and saw that Sollux's breaths had become even and shallow. "You asleep?"

"Nnnn..." he hummed a soft response, almost completely asleep. He breathed quietly, keeping his eyes shut.

"Good night, Sol." Karkat whispered before his friend fell asleep. Throughout the rest of the day, Karkat sat by his friend, petting him all the while.

Sollux slept for several hours, waking only because Karkat had snuggled up against him. He shivered and rubbed his eyes as he awoke. "Ugh I just thpent the whole day being lazy."

Karkat had quickly fallen asleep beside his friend. Why was he so comfortable around Sollux? Half the time Sollux acted as if he hated Karkat...

He sighed softly, gently shifting, turning to push his face against Karkat's chest. He smelled good and he was warm. For spring, it was painfully cold out and it sent shivers down his spine.

Karkat's arms wound themselves around Sollux's thin frame. "Sol..." Karkat whispered in his sleep.

Sollux looked up. "Huh?" he asked, blinking. "Are you awake?"

Karkat whimpered in his sleep, the dream providing him with images of a... Naughty sort... He shifted slightly before settling against the pillows again.

Sollux frowned. He gently rubbed Karkat's back with one hand, snuggling against him. "Thank you..."

A couple hours later, Karkat woke up. "Ngh. Sol? You awake?" Karkat shifted slightly. 'Why are my arms around him?' he asked himself.

Sollux had fallen partially asleep, having moved one of Karkat's hands into his hair.

"Sol... Wake up dumbfuck." Karkat shook his friend's head gently.

Sollux grumbled, using one of his hands to smack Karkat's face. "Nnnnnn..." he rubbed his eyes again, keeping them shut. "Fucker."

"Get off me..." Karkat glared though his mind was bouncing with the thought of cuddling with Sollux. He gently pushed away from his friend.

"But you're warm." he protested a bit, shifting away from him. "Jerk." he said, poking his tongue out, wiggling it at him.

"Will you fucking quit with the creepy tongue shit!" Karkat glared. "Fucking dickweed." He said as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stole a quick glance at Sollux before turning away a blush on his cheeks. Why was it always like this after he stayed the night?

"Pffth." Sollux stuck his tongue out even more, aiming it in his direction. "Haha." he smiled. "Call me will ya?" he smirked, referring that the two had engaged in... Activities. He snorted, sitting back on the bed,

"You wish." Karkat glared at him before getting up and going into the kitchen to prepare some sort of meal for the two of them.

Sollux sighed, sitting up. "You don't have to cook for me you know."

"Well, you won't cook for yourself so someone has to do it." Karkat sighed as he got out various ingredients.

Sollux rolled his eyes, getting up. "Fuck you..." he grumbled, grabbing his glasses, sliding them over his eyes. "Now I can at leatht see..."

Karkat started to cook, letting the delicious smell of French toast fill the hive. "I don't know how you can with those freaky eyes of yours." ... 'That I love so much...' Karkat thought to himself.

"Pfffth." He said, walking into the kitchen area, "I can thee jutht fine." he crossed his arms over his chest. "In vivid color too."

"Hi def, multicolored, freak eyes. Fun." Karkat said. "Here. Eat." He handed the plate and the bottle of syrup to his friend,

"Ith there any honey?" he asked, "Not mind honey." he held the bottle of syrup. "If not thyrup ith fine."

"I didn't look..." Karkat said as he made his way back into the kitchen. "Found it." He said after digging around in the cabinets for a moment.

"Yay." he smiled. He took the bottle of honey, pouring it all over the French toast. He started to eat, smiling a little. "You thure that thith ithn't mind honey?"

"I can't believe that you don't trust me." Karkat glared at him. "It's just honey."

"I do, but sometimeth, you don't think." Sollux grinned and pushed the plate away. "I'm full."

"You ate two bites... Eat Sol." He pushed the plate back toward his friend. "Now."

"I thaid I'm full." he glared at Karkat.

"Eat. Or I'll make you eat." Karkat glared back.

"Hah." he snorted. "Make me eat?" he threw his hands up. "I'd like to thee you try, KK."

Karkat grabbed his jaw while grabbing the fork before shoving it in his friend's mouth. "Now chew."

Sollux spat it at in Karkat's face, sticking his tongue out. "Thop it!" he glared, swatting at his friend.

"You need to eat!" Karkat growled before pushing Sollux down. "STOP ACTING LIKE AN IGNORANT FUCK AND LISTEN TO ME!"

Sollux lay on his back looking up at Karkat. "Will you get off me pleathe?" He blinked, his glasses having slipped down his nose. "Maybe if you were nithe..."

"Fine." Karkat grumbled getting off of his friend and the bed.

Sollux got up, brushing himself off. "Damn.." he muttered, going back over to the table, he ate 3/4 of the food and pushed the plate away, draining his drink.

"Thanks fuckass..." Karkat grumbled as he finished his own breakfast.

Sollux cleaned up easy by just using his mind to wash them. The dishes floated to the sink and got placed in the water. Sollux's eyes twitched slightly, flaring with a bit of red and blue around the edges when he stopped, gently holding the sides of his head. "Ow..."

"Then why did you do that, idiot?" Karkat sighed. "Are you still tired?"

"Because ith eathier than trying to go over and do it mythelf." he sighed and shook his head. "I'll be fine. I need to program thome thtuff."

"Don't overwork yourself. I'm going home for a bit but I'll be back later." Karkat said as he grabbed his backpack.

Sollux nodded. He felt blood rise up to his cheeks, making his cheeks tint yellow. "Can I come with? It's boring here."

"I don't care. Just hurry up. I want to shower." Karkat sighed.

Sollux nodded, grabbing a shirt and another pair of pants before shoving them into his bag. He threw it on his back, following Karkat out of his hive. "Can I thower at your hive?"

"Thure." He laughed. "I don't care if you shower at my place." Karkat said.

Sollux walked a bit past him, smacking the back of his head as he passed. "Thanks." he said, grinning a little. "Hey... Can we get ith cream?"

"Why do you need itch cream?" Karkat asked. "Do you have crabs or something?" He burst out laughing for he hadn't meant to make the joke.

Sollux glared at him. "Not itch cream..." he grumbled. "Eiiiiith cream. The thuff you eat." he clenched his fists. "KK, you're tho mean. Thop making fun of my lithp."

"Sorry..." He looked at the ground. "Yeah... We can get some ice cream."

Sollux grumbled a little bit, following him. "Tho mean. Tho tho tho mean." he said, crossing his arms. He followed alongside of him, until they got to the ice cream stand. "I'll have..." he looked at the ice cream flavors. "Chocolate eyeth cream. Two thcoopth." the troll behind the counter looked confused.

"He wants two scoops of chocolate ice cream and so do I." Karkat said pulling out his wallet.

The man nodded, getting to start on the order. Sollux looked at Karkat. "Put your wallet away, I'm paying for thith."

"Okay." Karkat put his wallet back in his backpack. "Thanks Sol."

Sollux paid the man and took his ice cream, glancing over at Karkat before starting to lick up the side of the cone, his split tongue moving over the surface. "Mmm...I love eyth cream." he mumbled continuing to walk in the direction of Karkat's hive.

"So creepy..." Karkat shuddered as he walked. "So what do you want to do tonight? I got a new game."

"My tongue is not creepy." He said, sticking it out at Karkat, wiggling it. "Game soundth fun."

"It is so." Karkat cringed away. "Hurry up slowass." Karkat said as he started to walk faster toward his hive.

"Nope." he said, following behind him. "I'm tired." he said, shrugging his shoulders. He licked his ice cream.

Karkat paused for a moment, letting Sollux catch up before grabbing his free hand and pulling him at the speed that he was walking before. "Stop being difficult you fuckass." he licked his ice cream as he grumbled.

Sollux grinned a little, trying to keep up with Karkat. "Thorry. I can only do tho much." he smiled and continued eating his ice cream.

"Well... Do... More!" Karkat grumbled as he pulled his friend up the small set of stairs into his hive.

"More?" he smirked. "I could uthe my tongue more." he laughed. "The only thing I can really do."

"Don't..." Karkat cringed, letting go of Sollux's hand. "That's just creepy."

"I don't think you think iths creepy." Sollux said, smirking.

"You split your tongue in half. How is that not creepy?" Karkat said. "Especially when you did it yourself."

"It didn't hurt." he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Bethideth." he smiled at him. "It's not creepy."

"It's really creepy." Karkat shuddered. "Why would you even do that?"

"Becathe." he said, looking at him. "Everything ith in twoths." he smiled.

"Even... Nevermind. I'm not asking that." Karkat turned away, grabbing the newest game from the shelf.

Sollux couldn't help but grin. "I'm thowering now okay?" he walked into the bathroom.

"Okay. Make it fast though." Karkat grumbled as he sat on his bed after putting the disc into the game system

Sollux nodded, hurrying to go take a shower. He hurried and then got out and dressed before coming back out, his hair sopping wet around his horns, exposing near the bottom. "Nn... The water ith cold."

"Did you turn it on hot?" Karkat looked at him. "That's the first thing you are supposed to do..."

"Oh..." he shivered. "No. Got a blanket? I'm freezing."

"Here." Karkat threw the blanket that was behind him at Sollux.

Sollux wrapped himself up like he was in a cocoon, sitting on the floor of Karkat's hive. "Tho cold..."

"Then sit up here dumbass. The bed is warmer than the floor." Karkat scooted over, making room for Sollux.

Sollux clambered up on the bed, scooting closer to Karkat. "KK, go thower." he said, taking the controller out of his hand. "I'll play."

"Don't get me killed." Karkat glared at him before crawling off the bed and going into the bathroom. He didn't take long to shower and returned, his hair wet but covered with a towel.

Sollux was good at games. He knew how to play them, and could do them easily. "Mmm." he hummed quietly to himself.

Karkat sat down on the bed. "What level are we now?" He asked, watching over Sollux's shoulder.

"Fithhh...fittthhhhh...fittthhhhteen." he scowled. "Fuck."

"Fifteen?" Karkat asked.

"Yeah... That." he said, hitting pause and handing him the controller. He flopped back on the bed, turning onto his stomach. "I'm hearing the voicethh again."

"Is it bad?" Karkat asked, looking down at his friend.

"Yeah..." he said, closing his eyes. "They're thaying bad thingth.."

Karkat scooted closer to his friend, gently running his fingers through his hair. "Better?"

Sollux made a soft noise and whimpered slightly. "KK..." he whispered. He felt Karkat's thumb gently brush against one of his horns, making his toes curl. "K-KK! Watch it!" he jerked his head away, his horns catching on Karkat's hand.

"Sorry." Karkat said as he started to pet a little further from the horns.

Sollux sighed, resting his head on his arms. "Are you trying to make me fall athleep?"

"No. Just trying to calm the voices." He stated. "Is it working?"

"Yeah..." he said, feeling his eyes slowly droop close. "You're making me tired..."

"Well... Then sleep." He said. "You need to rest anyways."

"KK, I'm fine." he grumbled, moving his head away. "I didn't come over to thleep."

"Then why did you want to come over?" Karkat asked.

"To hang out." he said, rubbing his eyes. "Thith ith thupid."

"What's stupid?" Karkat asked, confused. "Why don't we play another game?"

Feelings, Sollux thought. He wouldn't dare say it out loud. He sighed and nodded. "Yeah. New game thoundth nithe."

"Pick one." Karkat pointed to the shelf. "Pick anything you want to play."

Sollux nodded, getting up and dropping the blanket on the floor. He walked over to the stack and picked out a couple before returning to the bed with them. "Thethh are fine."

"Put one of them in and then we can play." Karkat sighed as he dug around for his extra controller.

Sollux nodded, putting it into the machine. He sat back, crossing his legs, wrapping the blanket around him. "Lethh do thith."

The game started. Sollux just had to pick one of the zombie games... Karkat sighed, knowing that they would both end up screaming when the first zombie jumped at them.

Sollux watched the screen with care, making sure he could at least tell what was coming.

Of course, the first zombie to pop out scared him, making him curse and throw the controller on the floor, flinging himself face first into the bed.

"Fuck!" Karkat yelled as he shot at it. "Why isn't it dying! Sol, help!"

Sollux used his powers instead, picking up the controller and firing at the zombie so he didn't actually have to look at the screen. He shivered in fear, his body pulsing with red and blue electricity.

"It's gone now... You can stop shooting..." Karkat said. "Why did you pick the game that you knew scared you?" Karkat paused it and lay down by his friend.

"I don't know." he said, dropping the controller. His body shuddered with electricity. "Thorry... My body is acting weird..." he whispered, looking at him. "Thorry..."

"Why are you sorry? You can't always control it." Karkat ran his hand through his friend's hair. "Stop being such a motherfucking Mary Sue..."

"Fuck you." he grumbled, flailing his arm at Karkat. "KK you're tho mean. Why are you tho mean to me..."

"Because that's how I am." Karkat said, ruffling Sollux's hair.

"I could be just athh mean to you ath you are to me, but I'm not that mean... I can't be to my only true friend."

"You know I have... Expression issues... And that I don't mean most of what I say..." Karkat sighed, pushing his face into the pillow. "I'm tired..."

"At leathhh you aren't bipolar and thit..." He sighed, rolling over on his side, flopping over Karkat.

"What are you doing?" Karkat asked.

"Trying to get comfy." he muttered. "I'm cold and you're warm." Sollux sighed, turning to face him, not realizing that his face was close to Karkat's. He brushed his nose against him, his eyes going crossed.

"Back up." Karkat glared. "Blanket sharing is one thing but no touching me."

"Uhh..." he sat back. "Th-Thhhh... Oh fuck it." he muttered. He grabbed the blanket and threw it in Karkat's face, changing the game in the system. It was an accident. Sollux knew that. It wasn't like he had rolled over on him on purpose... And even if it had been on purpose, he would have at least...

His face flushed bright yellow. Clearing his throat, he started shooting up non scary monsters.

"I'm going to sleep for a bit. I'm tired." Karkat yawned before curling up in a ball behind Sollux.

Sollux nodded. "Okay." he turned the volume down on the TV to almost nothing. He sighed, finishing the game in less than an hour. He looked back seeing Karkat was fast asleep. "Lucky." he whispered, laying down on the other side of the bed, using his arm as a pillow. He sighed, closing his eyes.

Karkat shifted, cuddling closer to the heat source. "Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..." The sound came from his throat as he slept.

Sollux, who still wasn't asleep, looked over at Karkat. He was scooting closer to him. Sollux sighed, taking part of the blanket, tossing it over himself. He reached up, letting his fingers tangle in Karkat's hair. He let his fingers gently brush against the base of Karkat's horns, watching his face. "KK..." he whispered, laying on his side, watching him.

The purrs from Karkat's throat increased as his dreams started to turn... It wasn't turning into a nightmare... More like a dream he shouldn't be having about his best friend. "Sol..." He whispered.

"KK, are you awake?" Sollux whispered, his hand hesitating. "Jeguth, KK, I'm thorry..." he started to remove his hand.

Karkat cuddled closer to the source of the warmth, burying his face in Sollux's chest. "."

Sollux gasped quietly, looking at him, his hands gently resting on Karkat's head. "Nn... KK... Um..." he whispered. "Are you..."

Karkat had dreamed of things like this. Mainly Sollux playing with his hair as he purred. The only person who knew he purred and he still couldn't help but feel embarrassed about it. "." He snuggled the warmth.

"KK..." he felt a blush creep to his cheeks as he gently stroked Karkat's hair. He smiled, and rested his head against Karkat's, letting the feeling of Karkat's purr seep into his body.

A couple hours later, Karkat awoke feeling warm. He shifted but couldn't move much. "What's going on?" He asked quietly as he again tried to move. He let his eyes explore his surroundings. There were arms around him and he could hear the quiet breaths coming from Sollux. His face turned red, thinking about the dream in which he had been cuddled up with his best friend as Sollux played with his hair.

Sollux had fallen asleep against him, his body warm against Karkat's, his eyes twitched behind his eyelids. Sollux was dreaming. His mind according to people at school was a mutated bunch of shit. He got teased a lot. Karkat was the only one there for him... He felt comforted by his presence.

"Sol... Sol..." Karkat gently shook his friend's arm. "Well... I guess I can let him sleep a little more..." Karkat sighed as he curled back up, falling asleep quickly.

Sollux shifted, his mind becoming filled with voices. He shifted awake, pushing his glasses off. "Nn...W-Wha..." he shifted, looking around. The room was dark. "W-Where am I?"

"Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr." the only sound in the room. "Purrrrrr purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."

Sollux shifted. "KK...?" he looked down, seeing someone snuggled up against him. He gently shook Karkat, trying to wake him. "KK... KK..."

"Nnnnngh.. What?" Karkat shifted, rubbing his eyes.

"KK... What... What time ith it?" he asked, scratching his head. Someone had been playing with his hair.

Karkat sat up looking at his clock. "10:30..." he sighed. "So sleepy..."

Why was Sollux's mind racing? Why was his heart beating so fast? "We've been athhleep all day..." he muttered. "You thhhh... Thhhhhnuggled up to me."

Karkat turned over. "Well... I'm still tired so I'm going back to sleep." He really turned over to hide the blush that had dyed his face bright red.

"Can..." he felt his cheeks get hot. "Can you help the voicethh go away?" he asked, closing his eyes.

Karkat's eyes went wide, the blush getting darker. "Uh... Sure but close your eyes first. Try to relax a little." He said as he slowly turned back over, now facing Sollux. He began to run his fingers through the soft hair. "Better?"

Sollux nodded. "Y-Yeah..." he said, pushing his face into the pillow. "Much..." he whispered, his cheeks yellow.

Karkat smiled a little. "Good..." He looked down at his friend. Why were thoughts of kissing Sollux starting to flood his mind with the force of a tidal wave?

Sollux turned his head so he could breathe. He let his mouth part, his tongue just barely sticking out as he slept.

Karkat watched as Sollux slept. A small smile on his lips.

Sollux slept quietly, his tongue gently twitching when he breathed out. He shifted slightly in his sleep, laying on his back, his mouth open.

Karkat watched quietly as Sollux's tongue moved. 'I wonder what it would be like to kiss him with that...' He thought for just a brief second before shaking the thought from his mind, running his fingers through the hair.

Sollux made a soft noise. It was halfway between a snore and a purr.

Karkat slowly leaned down, gently brushing his lips against Sollux's.


	2. Chapter 2

Somehow, even when Sollux was one of the lightest sleepers Karkat knew, the Gemini slept through the brief kiss. He made the soft noise again, his sleep getting deeper.

Karkat pulled back for a moment, his face deep red. Why did he let himself do that? He probably just woke Sollux up and now Sollux was going to think that he was a freak... But the temptation was still there... He watched Sollux's face for a moment before leaning back down and kissing him again.

Sollux made a soft noise. He closed his parted lips, feeling a pressure against them. His hands twitched, but he kept his eyes closed. He let his hands grip the sheets lightly. He knew what this was. He didn't want it to stop, but he couldn't help feeling slightly... Upset.

Karkat let his tongue gently run over Sollux's lips. This felt amazing but he needed to stop... And soon...

Sollux made a soft noise and parted his lips. He knew Karkat thought his tongue was gross, but... Perhaps that's what he wanted.

Karkat gently slid his tongue into Sollux's mouth. 'Keep digging yourself deeper dumbass...' he thought to himself but it felt too good to stop.

Sollux couldn't help but whimper. He moved his tongue against Karkat's enjoying every minute of this.

Karkat pulled back, his eyes wide. "Sol..."

Sollux opened his eyes, looking up at him. "You didn't have to thop dumb athhhh..." he grumbled, reaching up for Karkat's face.

Karkat was confused. "Do you want me to?" He looked away slightly, his face turning red.

Sollux nodded. "Pleathh." he said softly, pulling Karkat back down, pushing their lips together, his mouth parting. He flicked out his tongue slipping his into Karkat's mouth.

Karkat tried to not moan into the kiss. What was it about a bifurcated tongue that made this so much better?

"KK..." Sollux whispered, kissing him back gently letting his tongue do the work. He let his hands move up, tangling in his hair.

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux's waist, his tongue dancing with Sollux's. Another moan escaped his lips as he gripped the back of Sollux's shirt.

Sollux moaned quietly, pulling away for just a moment. "K-KK..." he whispered, panting hard. "t-Tha..." he touched his face. "Wath... A-amathing..."

Karkat nodded, not sure he could speak. He let himself snuggle up to Sollux, wanting to hide the candy red blush of his face.

Sollux wrapped his arms around him, his face stained yellow. "KK... Ith... Ith thith what it feelth like to be..." he blushed even darker. "Fluthhhhhhed..."

The blush on Karkat's face got even darker. "I... I don't... Know... My heart won't stop pounding in my chest..." He buried his face further, careful not to bump his horns.

"KK..." he blushed, touching the top of his head. "Are..." he gently brushed his fingers across the tip of Karkat's horns. "Are they thiinthative?"

Karkat nodded. "Are yours?" He looked up at Sollux, his face red.

Sollux nodded shakily, gently touching Karkat's horns. "Nn... You... You can touch them..."

Karkat gently moved his hands up, gently brushing his fingers against the base of a pair of Sollux's horns. "Is this okay?"

Sollux moaned, his voice soft, his eyes wide. He leaned into the touch. "K-KK..." he moaned softly, looking at him with wide eyes. "KK... If you keep thithhh up I'm gonna have to..." he panted quietly.

"Have to what?" Karkat smirked as he kissed Sollux again.

Sollux moaned quietly, kissing him back deeply, his body reacting as such. "I'll... Need... A bucket."

"I happen to have one." Karkat said in between kisses.

Sollux felt a shiver run through his body. "KK, don't teathh me." he whispered, looking at him.

"I'm not teasing you Sol." Karkat brushed his fingers against Sollux's horns a little harder, feeling himself become flustered.

Sollux whimpered. "Fuck KK..." he shifted, his hands rubbing on Karkat's chest, fingers moving up his shirt.

"Touch mine..." Karkat whispered as he rubbed the sensitive horns. "Please.."

Sollux removed his hands from Karkat's chest, burying them in his hair, rubbing his stubby horns.

"Aaaaaaaaaah. Sol... That feels good." Karkat moaned.

Sollux panted. "KK... I... I think I feel red for you..." he whispered, pulling him in for a kiss.

Karkat kissed him back. "I feel... Red for you too..." He moaned as Sollux rubbed his horns. "Gog... Sol.."

Sollux whimpered. "Jegus KK... Thop teasing and just... Augh..." he bit down on Karkat's lower lip drawing blood. "We have to do thomething..."

"What do you want to do?" Karkat asked.

"Doethn't matter..." Sollux didn't know how to do anything. His eyes were filled with a sort of panic need. "I've never thwaped genetic materialthh before..."

"I haven't either..." Karkat admitted. "But... Terezi told me some things..."

"We... Need to do thomething..." Sollux whispered, feeling his pants getting tighter and tighter. "Or elthh I might ethhhhplode."

Karkat nodded and took his hands gently away from Sollux's horns, moving them slowly down to Sollux's pants.

Sollux gasped. "K-KK, d-don't put your hand down there" he gasped out, his face flushing yellow. "T-That'th embarrathhhhhhhhhing."

"It will feel good. At least that's what Terezi told me..." He said as he unzipped Sollux's pants, looking up at him with a red face.

Sollux closed his eyes, trying not to shake out of anticipation. "I thought I told you KK, I have two of everything."

"I know but there is only one zipper..." he smirked moving his other hand down to Sollux's pants. "Just relax." He said softly, coaxing out the twin bonebulges by gently rubbing the slit of the sheath.

"Pffthhh..." Sollux spat at him, glaring. "Don't be tho-" He couldn't finish that sentence. His mouth opened in a soft moan, his head hitting the pillow behind him.

Karkat gently wrapped one hand around each of Sollux's bonebulges. "Does that feel good?"

All he could do was nod. He whimpered and reached for Karkat's face. "Kithhh me you fool."

Karkat smiled, bringing his face close to Sollux's, his hands moving a little faster.

Sollux kissed him, his tongue raging against Karkat's lips. "KK... You're... You have amathiing handthhh..."

"Thanks..." Karkat smiled, pushing his tongue against Sollux's, feeling it wrap partially around his. "Sol..." He moaned into the kiss.

"KK..." he moaned back, pushing into Karkat's hands. He panted, pulling back.

Karkat moved his hands faster. "Tell me before you release... Okay?"

Sollux nodded, moaning. "I... I'll try..." he whispered, shifting his hips. "KK..."

Karkat moved his hands opposite of each other, smirking at the look on Sollux's face as he became closer and closer to release.

Sollux whimpered, his eyes shut tight. "KK... I'm gonna..." he moaned his voice getting softer and softer. "KK... I... I..."

Karkat leaned down and ran his tongue up the side of one of the bonebulges. He let it slither into his mouth, sucking on it gently.

Sollux gasped out. His body ached. His body cringed and cried out. He released into Karkat's mouth, his other bonebulge releasing onto Karkat's face. "F-Fuck!"

Karkat pulled back after a moment, using his hand to wipe away what had gotten on his face. "Did you like it?" he asked quietly.

"KK..." He panted quietly, moving to kiss him, watching as his yellow release dripped down Karkat's chin. He pushed Karkat back against the bed, his mouth and tongue lavishing over his chest. He gently undid Karkat's pants, sliding them down his legs before taking the mostly unsheathed bonebulge into his mouth.

"Sol..." He moaned. "I want you so bad..."

Sollux smirked, using his bifurcated tongue to lavish over his length, careful not to scrape his sharp teeth against him.

"Oh gog... Sol... More..." Karkat gasped gently entangling his fingers in Sollux's hair

Sollux smirked. He pushed his mouth down on Karkat's bulge. He hummed softly, letting his hands spread Karkat's thighs apart, his nails gently scraping.

"Aaaaaaahn." Karkat moaned. "Sol..." His mind was blank except for the feeling pulsing through his body and the flames that bloom in his skin where Sollux touched him.

"Mmm~" Sollux hummed. "KK, tho noithhy." He smiled. He let his tongue move and dip over every crevice. He smirked, slurping at the red liquid being secreted. He smirked as he sucked harder.

"Sol..." He moaned loudly. "More! Please!" He moaned, arching his body as his head pushed into the mattress behind him.

Sollux looked at him. "Hmm?" he hummed, pulling his mouth back. "What do you want?" Sollux grinned as he pulled back, cracking his knuckles.

"Anything... Just please... More..." Karkat looked at him, his eyes half closed in pleasure.

Sollux grinned. He moved Karkat's legs apart, using his psionics to hold them there. He smirked as he slipped a finger into Karkat's nook.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahn." Karkat moaned feeling himself twitch.

Sollux smirked, watching the red and blue electricity swirl around Karkat's ankles. "KK... You're so willing." he smiled, slipping the finger in further, adding a second.

Karkat screamed louder, his body shivering with pleasure. He looked at Sollux with half-lidded eyes. "Put it in..." He whimpered.

Sollux couldn't help but smirk. "One or two?" he grinned, wetting his lips.

"One... For now..." He whimpered. "I don't know if both will fit..."

Sollux nodded, letting the power vanish, grabbing Karkat's ankles, situating himself so that his bottom most length pushed inside, letting the other rub against and move with Karkat's "A-Aaah" he cried out, whimpering. "K-KK..."

"A-ah aaaaaaaaaaaaahn. Sol..." He moaned as he dug his nails into Sollux's shoulders. "Harder..."

Sollux nodded, shifting his hips, pushing deep inside of him, whimpering quietly, hissing in pleasure. "K-k... You're so hot inside." He smirked. He used his hand to gently stroke both of them, moaning quietly as he did so. He couldn't help but look at the mixing color of their releases as they entwined. He couldn't wipe the grin from his lips. "KK... Touch me." he said, smiling.

Karkat slowly moved his hand over Sollux's exposed bulge, stroking it gently. "Oh gog Sol... This is... Amazi..." He moaned as Sollux pushed deeper into him.

Sollux shifted, angling his hips, slamming into Karkat's hips. He moaned, crying out. "F-Fuck..." he grumbled.

"Sol.. I'm... Abo..." He moaned before releasing. He looked up at Sollux panting. "Sol..."

Sollux gripped Karkat's shoulders before he released both inside of him and on his chest. "Nn... Nnn..." he rested his head against Karkat's shoulder, riding out his orgasm.

Karkat moaned and moved his hips with every thrust of Sollux's. "Aaaaaaaaaaahn."

Sollux panted, resting against him. "KK..." he panted, having a hard time forming words. He shifted his hips back, pulling himself out of Karkat's body. "A-Aah..."

"That was amazing Sol..." Karkat panted as he sat up a little pulling Sollux toward him. "Why don't you stay another night?"

Sollux nodded. "Y-Yeah..." he said, panting softly. "I'm... Tho tired..." he whispered, laying against Karkat's chest.

"Then let's go to sleep." He said as he gently ran his fingers through Sollux's hair. "Hopefully the voices will be quiet tonight.."

"I... Hope tho..." he whispered, curling up with him, letting his hands gently rest around his hips.

"I'm red for you..." Karkat whispered gently kissing Sollux's forehead.

"And I'm red for you, KK." he said as he looked up. "Tho much..."

Sollux thought about something. "Tomorrow won't be... Thhhhtrange will it?" he asked. "At thhhhchool?"

"No. Because... You'll be there... Right?" Karkat looked at him with wide-eyes.

"Yeth, I'll be there." Sollux said, touching his face. "But, you like to make fun of me..." he looked away from Karkat's face.

"I won't say anything about this if you don't want me to..." Karkat nuzzled into the hand. "I don't want to make you mad.."

Sollux smiled. He felt happy for the first time in a while. "I... I'd like that." he said, touching his face, bringing his close, kissing him. "Nn..."

Karkat blushed but closed his eyes and kissed Sollux back, smiling into the kiss.

Sollux smiled. "Thhhee?" he smiled even wider, baring his sharp teeth. "I told you, you liked my tongue."

"Shut up..." he blushed even darker looking away. "Now it's going to be hard for me to not look at you and blush..."

"Good." he said, grinning. "I'm glad I could be of thurvithhh."

"Dick..." Karkat pouted, starting to turn away.

"Ptthhhht." he grabbed Karkat's hair, pulling him close. "You know you love me."

Karkat gasped a little. "So? You are going to end up torturing me in school now..."

"Perhapthh." he smiled. "Depenthhh on what you thhhay."

"To what?" He leaned up and gently kissed Sollux. "Yes... I do like your tongue..."

"Ithhh not grothhh at all ith it?" he smiled, poking it out of his mouth again. "Thhhee?"

Karkat opened his mouth and grabbed the tongue gently with his teeth, looking up at Sollux.

Sollux quirked his eyebrows. "AAA uu inlyithhhin thhoonnin?" he pushed his lips against Karkat's.

Karkat runs his tongue over Sollux's, his desire reigniting. "Sol... I love your tongue... I love your eyes... I love you..." He whispered, his hands cupping Sollux's face.

"And I love you too." He smiled at him. "Now thleep." he smiled, closing his eyes. "The voicethhh have thubthided for now, but I don't know for how long."

Karkat nodded, burying his face in Sollux's chest, purring as he fell asleep.

Sollux woke early the next morning, his body stiff from sleeping in odd positions. He blushed, unwrapping himself from Karkat's arms, swallowing slightly as he kissed the side of Karkat's face. "Wake up."

Karkat shifted slightly, his body in a bit of pain. "Nnngh..." He whimpered shoving his face back into Sollux's chest. "I don't want to..."

"You have to." he said, flicking his tongue at Karkat's ear.

"Aaaah..." he gasped. "Why? We can miss another day..." he looked up at his lover, kissing him gently.

"Nnn... I'm already awake." he said, kissing him back. "Bethidethh." he sighed. "You have to make me food."

"Okay..." Karkat got up, lingering for a moment as he straddled Sollux before climbing off the bed and walking into the kitchen. "What do you want to eat?

"Anything ith fine." he smiled, shifting, looking for the clothes he had tossed aside.

Karkat looked over at Sollux. "Can you throw me a pair of pants from the drawer?" he blushed slightly as he gathered ingredients from the pantry for biscuits and gravy.

Sollux nodded, getting up digging in the drawer for the pair of familiar grey jeans. "Here." he tossed them into the kitchen.

Karkat caught them with one hand. "Thanks." He pulled them on quickly before he started cooking.

Sollux dug around for his pants before finally finding them, pulling them back on. "Now I'm a bit leth... Embarathhhed."

Karkat smiled and looked intently into the pan as he mixed the gravy. "Yeah..."

"You looked thocked." he felt yellow rise up into his cheeks again.

"What do you mean by that?" Karkat looked at him, his face tinted red.

"That I have two...er..." he quirked his eyebrows, digging around for his shirt, finding one of Karkat's instead.

"Oh... Yeah... I was going to ask about that when you had mentioned it earlier... But I thought you would think I was a freak..." He looked away, highly embarrassed.

Sollux laughed. "Haha..." he smiled, gently papping Karkat's shoulder.

"How does this taste?" He asked, holding a gravy covered spoon up to Sollux's mouth.

Sollux licked it gently. "Not bad." he said, smiling a little. He had pulled on one of Karkat's shirts on instead of his own.

"Please don't wear my shirt to school..." Karkat mumbled as he went back to stirring the gravy.

"Why not?" he smirked, "Ith a little big on me, but ith cute."

"Because... People are stupid... And say mean things..." He looked down at the pot in front of him. "And it's kind of embarrassing..."

"How ith it embarathhing?" he frowned.

"Because... It just is..." He blushed. "It makes me blush and that's embarrassing..."

Sollux smiled a little. "Thathh fine." he said, smiling. He sat down, starting to eat when the food was put down. He still only ate about half.

"I love you..." Karkat whispered looking down at his plate, his face red. He couldn't stop thinking that this was a dream...

"I love you too." he said, grinning. He got up, finally finding his bag as he dug through it finding clean clothes. "I'm taking a thower."

"Okay." Karkat watched as Sollux made his way to the shower room. He covered his face with his hands. "Did all that really happen?" he whispered.

Sollux washed himself clean. It took a short time before he fixed up his hair, dressed in his proper clothing, and headed back out into the main room, still finding a shirtless Karkat.

Karkat had curled back up on the bed, falling into a light sleep as he waited for Sollux to come back, a soft purr escaping his lips.

Sollux sighed, rolling his eyes. "You goofy thing." He mumbled, going over and jumping on Karkat, licking up his neck.

Karkat screamed. "What the fuck!" He jerked away. "Sol!"

Sollux grinned. "Get up." He said, biting down next to his ear, grinning. "Ith time to get up."

"Stop…" Karkat whimpered, looking up at Sollux. "I'm awake."

"Ahahaha." He snorted, getting up, snorting. "Get drethed."

"Dick…" Karkat pouted as he slid off of his bed. He blushed as he searched for a clean shirt, feeling Sollux's eyes watch him. "Why are you staring at me?" He asked blushing even darker as he pulled the shirt on. 'Is he trying to turn me on?...' Karkat pondered.

"Becauth I can." He said, smiling, poking his tongue out. "We're running late. Leth hurry up."

"You could have woken me up earlier…" Karkat sighed, turning around. "Okay. I'm ready. Let's go." He said as he grabbed his backpack and walked toward the door.

Sollux nodded, grabbing his bag, carrying it with him as he walked out the door, messing with his shirt and glasses.

Karkat blushed feeling Sollux's hand brush against his for a moment. "Sol…." He looked up at him. "Is this really okay?..." He asked, blushing. He wasn't sure that what had happened the night before wasn't a dream, though his body hurt slightly.

"Yup." He said, grinning. "I'm pothhitive." He smiled, grabbing Karkat's hand. "It'th tho nithe."

Karkat blushed darkly, wrapping his fingers around Sollux's hand. "This is nice…" He smiled softly, if you want to call the attempt a smile. They continued to walk to school, holding hands the whole time. As they got closer, Karkat started to get nervous, not knowing if Sollux would let go or not. He was more nervous about people making fun of him even though he was happy to know that Sollux had feelings for him too. "Sol…" He whispered.

"Heh?" he looked at him, blinking his two toned eyes. "What do you want?"

"I love you…" He whispered softly not sure if Sollux could hear him. What was he going to do if this was still a dream? He felt his heart ache in his chest as he thought about the possibility of Sollux's hand in his being a dream.

Sollux grinned, lifting his chin and gently kissing Karkat on the lips. "I love you too, dumbath."

Karkat's eyes went wide. He gently pushed Sollux away a little, playing with him. "Fuckass. I have to go to class. Later." He let go of Sollux's hand and walked toward his locker.

Sollux laughed and walked on to his class, smiling. He felt happy.

"What's got you so happy freak?" Vriska said. "You look like you just found out that your little anger freak friend has red feelings for your mutant ass."

Sollux shrugged his shoulders. "Well hello, AG." Sollux spat, glaring at her. "Juth because I'm happy doethent mean that you have the right to make fun of me."

"Why else would you be happy you bipolar fuckwad? Hell, you can't even talk right with that hack job in your mouth!" Vriska spat back.

"Will you stop it Vriska?" Terezi asked, walking into the room, her cane in front of her. "Sollux is happy and that's a good thing." She looked at the location of Vriska's voice. "That means that he's less likely to snap and kill you." She smiled widely.

"Yeah right." He snapped, clenching his fists. "Fuck you Vrithka." He said, frowning.

Karkat sat in his history class, doodling as he always did. Random pictures of Sollux, Gamzee and Terezi, the only people he trusted. He sighed, thinking of the events from the night before, his face turning a light red. Finally, the bell rang and he would get to see Sollux for a few moments before heading off to study hall. He walked out into the hallway finding Sollux by his locker. They exchanged pleasantries before sneaking a kiss and going their separate ways.

"What's got you all flustered?" Terezi asked when Karkat came into the class room.

"What do you mean?" He asked, feeling the blush on his face brighten a little.

"You smell more red than usual…" She stated. Karkat looked around, making sure that there was no one close enough to hear their conversation.

"Well… You know how I told you that I think I might be… Flushed for... Sollux?" Terezi nodded slightly. "Well… I kinda told him yesterday and he said he feels the same way… One thing led to another and we… Did a bucket thing…" He blushed even darker. Terezi's eyes widened behind her glasses.

"You swapped genetic material with Sollux? That explains everything!" She smiled.

"Well… The thing is that… It feels like a dream so I'm not sure if any of this is real…" Karkat confessed, putting his head down. Pain exploded in the back of Karkat's head as Terezi's cane made contact.

"That should wake you up." She giggled as Karkat let a string of various curse words fill the room while he held the back of his head.

"You need to stop being so stupid." Terezi said, smiling. "If you two are now matesprits then you have to learn to express that. I don't want to have to step in and stop you two from killing one another." She put her stick down in a judicial manner, glaring at Karkat. "I will not be in for hearing that the two of you are fighting, okay? You two are too cute for that." She grinned that wicked grin.

Sollux went into the class he hated most. Everyone, and he meant every, hated him in that class. It was because he was so much better at it than everyone else. He sighed, sitting down in his seat, waiting for the torture to begin.

"Oi." A voice said. Sollux frowned, feeling a paper be thrown at his head. He growled, ignoring it as best as he could. He sighed and felt yet another hit him.

The entire class kind of glared at him the entire time class was in session.

He felt his last nerve break as a spitball hit him right in the face. He slammed his hands on the desk, his psionics flaring.

"Thathh IT!" he said, glaring as his attention snapped. Using his powers, he picked up all of the paper balls from the ground, making them spatter across the room, hitting all whom had thrown them. He stormed out of the room, letting a desk he had picked up fall to the ground with a huge bang as he slammed the door shut, his eyes still glowing blue and red.

A teacher approached him, and Sollux quickly reacted, his anger taking over as he shoved the teacher to the ground using his powers.

Trolls and teachers screamed, fearing the great Psionic.

"Karkat… I think something happened to Sollux…" Terezi said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Karkat asked looking at her.

"I hear screaming..." She said quietly. Karkat nodded and walked out of the classroom.

"Mr. Vantas! Get back in here!" The teacher yelled.

"My matesprit is having a mental breakdown." He glared before walking out of the room. He ran to Sollux's classroom seeing Sollux's eyes blazing red and blue. He approached carefully.

"Sol…"

Sollux looked at Karkat, his eyes turning slowly back to their old selves. The class looked at him, shocked. There was a moment of silence before one of the teachers glared, sending Sollux to the office.

Sollux looked at Karkat as he passed by, whispering a soft, "Thorry…."

The office visit wasn't a pleasant one. The office clerk practically screamed at Sollux, telling him that if there was another outburst like that again he would be punished severely. The boy kind of shrugged it off, going back out, his face looking sullen. He didn't want to return to that class. Instead he walked into the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror, sighing. He couldn't help but let tears start down his cheeks. How stupid of him. Karkat probably was terrified of him now… Maybe Vriska was right…. Maybe he was just some sort of ruthless killing machine. He locked himself in a stall.

"Sol? Are you in here?" Karkat asked entering the bathroom. He had checked the office, trying to find his matesprit. "Sol… Please…" He whispered before hearing a soft sob. "Sol, please… Come out and talk to me." He begged.

Sollux unlocked the door but sat still in the corner, his face plastered into his hands, his knees to his chest in the corner of the largest stall. He sobbed quietly, leaning against the wall for support. His powers subsided, sinking back. The trails of red and blue light faded. "KK…" he whispered.

Karkat walked into the stall, dropping to his knees by Sollux and wrapping his arms around him. "Shhh. It's okay. I'm here now." He whispered before kissing the top of Sollux's head. "I love you." He whispered directly into Sollux's ear.

Sollux sighed, laying back against him. "I'm thorry." He said, looking at him, his eyes tinged yellow around the edges. "I feel horrible." He sniffed, pushing his face into Karkat's chest. "I fucked up…"

"No you didn't. People are fuckasses and think that anyone who is different is a freak." Karkat gently cupped Sollux's face in his hand. "I love you and next time people are asses to you, come find me." He kissed Sollux gently. "I know how amazing you are and the people who can't see that are stupid and need to be shot in the head. At close range."

Sollux nodded. He sighed, hearing someone come in.

"Wwell. Wwhat do wwe have here?" Eridan mumbled, walking into the bathroom. "You twwo aren't filling pails in the stall are you? That's so gross."

"Fuck you, ED." Sollux grumbled, scooting closer to Karkat.

Karkat glared at him. "Go the fuck away you fishfucking dumbshit." Karkat spat, laying his head on Sollux's shoulder.

"Cod, you guys. Is a guy not allowwed to take a piss?" he rolled his eyes, going into one of the stalls before leaving a few minutes later.

"You feeling any better?" Karkat asked softly, gently kissing Sollux's cheek.

"A little..." he admitted, sighing as he sniffed and laid his head against Karkat's face. "I'm thorry you have to deal with me being a baby."

"How are you being a baby?" Karkat asked. "You're upset by the fuckasses that are in your class. We don't have to stay..." He sighed. "We could go get ice cream again..." Karkat blushed as he spoke. He really just wanted to spend some private time with Sollux.

"I like that idea." he said, rubbing his arms. "Eyeth cream..."

Karkat tried to smile, feeling a bit better to know that he made Sollux at least a little happy. He stood and offered his hand for Sollux. "Let's get out of this hellhole."

Sollux nodded, frowning as he got up, rubbing his eyes.

Karkat grabbed hold of one of Sollux's hands. "Smile for me..." He blushed darkly, walking close to Sollux as they made their way to Karkat's locker.

Sollux sighed. "I don't want to." he said quietly, frowning as he pushed himself against Karkat, putting his cheek against Karkat's.

Karkat gently let go of his matesprit's hand as he opened his locker, grabbing his backpack. "Even if I kiss you?..." He looked up at Sollux, his face candy red.

"Maybe..." he said, his face turning yellow.

Karkat turned, gently cupping Sollux's face in his hands. "I love you." He whispered before their lips made contact.

Sollux blushed darkly, "KK..." he whispered, gently deepening the kiss, before pulling back. "Nnn..."

"We should go get ice cream now." Karkat blushed, looking away. He knew this wasn't a dream anymore and that made things so much scarier in his mind.

Sollux nodded. "I like that idea." he smiled. He gently grabbed Karkat's hand, following him out.

Karkat looked up at Sollux, his eyes shining with happiness. They made their way to the ice cream stand, ordering two chocolate double scoops and heading over to Karkat's place, the ice creams had been finished before even arriving at Karkat's. Once inside, Karkat pulled Sollux over to his bed, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist, pulling him close as Karkat sat on the bed.

Sollux sighed quietly, snuggling up against him. "Thank you..." he said, looking up at him.

"Can we take a nap? I'm tired..." Karkat whispered as he snuggled further into Sollux's chest.

Sollux nodded. "I like that idea." he said softly.

Karkat released his hold on Sollux for long enough slip out of his jeans, leaving him in a t-shirt and boxers.

Sollux slid his pants off, kicking them aside as he curled up next to Karkat, breathing quietly.

Karkat fell asleep quickly against Sollux, a soft purr escaping his lips as he slept peacefully.

A week passed. Sollux hadn't slept. He sat at his computer, and did nothing but try and hack a program he had just found. He hadn't eaten nor slept. He had gotten several calls from school wondering where he was. Time seemed to stand still. He worked hard on making sure he could figure out the code.

He got up to look out the window. He had ignored all calls from Karkat as much as it hurt him. He sighed as he felt weakness come over him. He collapsed, hearing a knock at the door. He fell into a massive puddle of mind honey, the sticky liquid getting all over his face and chest as he slept, his mind raging.

Karkat turned the doorknob, finding the door unlocked. This only happened when Sollux didn't sleep. "Oh my gog..." He whispered as he walked into the hive, seeing Sollux passed out in the puddle. He quickly went to his side, trying to move him out of the puddle. "Sol... Please wake up..." He whispered. What had happened?

Sollux whimpered, his powers flaring suddenly. He still slept, his mouth open, some of the honey resting on his tongue. His powers reached out, wrapping themselves around Karkat's arms.

"Sol! Wake up!" Karkat gently shook Sollux, the energy wrapping around his arms freaking him out.

Sollux cringed, feeling his power flare. "Outhide." he muttered, his hands shaking.

Karkat helped him up, for he couldn't lift Sollux by himself, leading him outside. "Sol..." He whispered, worried that Sollux was hurt.

His powers flared even stronger, his eyes flashing. A massive display of power released from his eyes as Sollux screamed, his body shaking against Karkat's.

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux's waist in an attempt to keep him standing, he shoved his head in between Sollux's shoulders. "Sol..."

Sollux cringed, the power fading. He slumped against Karkat, whimpering. "A-Ah... Ow..."

"Are you okay?" Karkat asked quietly. "Let's go back inside..."

Sollux nodded. "Y-Yeah..." he whispered, his body shivering. "Nn... P-pleathh..."

Karkat helped Sollux back inside his hive. "You haven't eaten or slept have you?" He scowled, hating it when Sollux became so immersed in something that he stopped taking care of himself.

Sollux whimpered and nodded slowly. His stomach felt hallow. He whimpered, touching his hallowed stomach. "I'm thorry." he said quietly, sitting down on the bed, trying to pry the honey off his shirt.

"You lay down and I'll cook something for you to eat." Karkat kissed Sollux's forehead, careful to avoid the mind honey.

Sollux nodded, shivering. He stripped himself of his shirt, throwing it aside before flopping down on the bed.

Karkat gently ran his fingers through Sollux's hair before turning toward the kitchen. He heard the soft breaths coming from Sollux before he turned his gaze away from the stove and smiled softly as he saw Sollux sleeping.

Sollux breathed quietly, mumbling soft nothings in his sleep. His chest and stomach looked caved in, his ribs exposed. He looked frail, brittle.

Karkat sighed as he cooked one of Sollux's favorite foods. Honey pancakes and mixed fruit. By the time he figured he should stop cooking and wake Sollux up, he had made 15 pancakes... He walked over to the bed, gently shaking his matesprit's arm as he kissed his cheek softly.

Sollux shifted, sitting up, rubbing his eyes. "Nnnn... Huh?" he looked at Karkat, his eyes wide and quivering slightly. "Oh..."

"I made your favorite!" Karkat blushed. He liked taking care of Sollux and wished that the stubborn Gemini would let him more often. "Do you want me to bring it over here or do you want to go to the table?"

"I'll go to the table." he frowned, nodding his head a little, his body shivering slightly. He was cold. "KK..." he whispered.

"Yes Sol?" Karkat looked over at him from the bed.

"I'm cold." he said quietly, leaning on him. "Y-You don't have to do thith for me."

"I want to... I like taking care of you..." He blushed darkly. "Because... I love you..."

Sollux blushed yellow. "That's tho cute." he said. He smiled, looking at him with a goofy grin.

"I'm not cute you fuckass." Karkat pouted getting off the bed to ready Sollux's plate.

"You are adorable." he said, pinching his cheek.

Karkat pulled away. "Shut up and go to the table." He blushed moving away from Sollux. He grabbed a plate from the cabinet and loaded it with pancakes. "You need to eat at least half of this." There were only 2 pancakes on the plate but it probably looked like a mountain of them to Sollux.

"Uh..." He looked at the plate, frowning. "Why tho much food...?"

"That's the two smallest pancakes in the bunch..." Karkat mumbled, setting the plate in front of Sollux. "I wanted to make sure you had enough food in case you were really hungry..."

Sollux frowned. He started eating, his stomach reacting. He forgot how good it felt to eat. He ate quietly, slurping down his milk next to him, sighing quietly as he leaned back against his chair, patting his slightly bloated stomach. "Full."

Karkat smiled softly. "Was it good?" He had started to feel slightly self-conscious around Sollux, as if he didn't deserve the awesomeness of having Sollux as his matesprit.

Sollux nodded, smiling. "Thank you." He patted his stomach, getting up and going over to the bed, rubbing his eyes. "The voicetheth are really thutrong…..We need… To meet with everyone." He said, frowning. "I'm afraid that thith ith …. A matter of life or death." He rubbed his head on either side of his temples, sighing quietly. "They keep thaying the thame thing over and over." He sighed, laying back against his pillow. "Two be honetht….. I'm thcared."

Karkat walked over to the bed, sitting down. "I'll have Terezi talk to everyone." He looked at Sollux. "Are you going to be okay?" He ran his fingers gently through Sollux's hair.

"I will be." He said, gently rubbing his head against Karkat's hands. "It needth to be now." He said. "Ath thoon ath pothible."

Karkat bent down and softly kissed Sollux's cheek, watching as his face became slightly tinted with yellow. He then whispered sweet words into Sollux's ear, making his matesprit blush even more. "You're adorable and I love you."

"I love you too." He whispered, looking at him. "But…." He said even softer. "I'm…. Afraid…. That we will have to leave thith place…. It…. Will be destroyed."

"As long as you're there…. I'm okay with that…" Karkat whispered, looking up at Sollux before kissing his lips gently.


	3. Chapter 3

Sollux nodded. "Y-Yeah…" he said, kissing him back, his lips gently wrapping around Karkat's. He brushed his tongue against his lips, smiling as he pulled back. "Let's go…" he whispered, looking at him. "We…. Need to meet with them."

"You're a dick." Karkat pouted as he pulled away from Sollux's arms, grabbing his phone and dialing Terezi.

"Hey… Terezi… Sollux has an announcement he needs to make but we don't have anyone's numbers so can you call them?" There were a few nods and sounds of agreement before he hung up the phone. "She's going to call everyone and call us back with the meeting place." He looked over at Sollux. "What do you want to do until then?" He asked, thoughts rushing through his mind as he thought of all the various responses that Sollux could give.

Sollux blushed. "I don't know." He said, gently giving Karkat a shove. "I…. I want to get back to work on that thtupid thing." He got up from the bed, pulling on a clean shirt before going over to his computer, settling down in his chair, sighing quietly as he looked at the screen. It was filled with numbers and letters and colors.

Karkat sighed as he spread out on Sollux's bed, making himself comfortable. After about a half an hour, his cell phone rang with a text. "Terezi says to meet them at the park by school." Karkat said as he sat back up.

Sollux nodded, sighing as he printed out a sheet. He sighed shoving it in his bag, getting his things together.

He and Karkat walked to the park, the wind blowing in his hair as he made his way before both friend and foe.

"I have thomething important." He said quietly, frowning.

Karkat stood off to the side of Sollux, his arms crossed. He was not happy about having to be around a bunch of people who hated him and his matesprit but he gritted his teeth and bore it for this was important.

Sollux swallowed, looking at everyone.

"As…most of you know, I hear the voices of the dead… The deceased… The past, present, and future." He swallowed, expecting some sort of weird comment from one of them.

Instead he received silence.

"Someone has sent me a program…. I've tried so hard to hack it…. But the only thing I can deem from it is what the voices tell me. The program is a plan to correct the problems of troll-kind." He said, cracking his knuckles as he held out his paper. "I've spent the past week and a half sitting here trying to understand what it is that is going on." He looked down at the paper. "I've written down every message." He cleared his throat.

"I think it has something to do with our ancestors."

He held the letter out in front of him.

"Psiioniic, your time has come to lead. You, Mindfang, the Summoner, the Handmaid… Everyone. You must band together. You must escape. A powerful force is coming. You must escape while at your age."

Vriska rolled her eyes.

"I don't think you have any right to be saying all of this, Captor." Sollux glared.

"Don't ." he said, his eyes glaring harshly.

"Look, everyone. If I run that program the world is going to end. If I don't run the program, we have no chance of surviving." He said, glaring at them all. "We have no choice. I'm running the program tonight…. We have to start tonight when it comes to this." He stepped back, awaiting commentary.

"I don't know about you all but I don't want to die… Not now…" Karkat said, his gaze at the ground. Terezi nodded and made her way toward the pair.

"I'm with you two. Gamzee? Tav?" She looked at the pair. They both nodded and went over to Karkat's side.

Sollux looked around. "Fef? Eridan?" he looked over at the two, before they slowly sauntered over. Nepeta sauntered over as well, looking back at Equius with sad eyes.

Equius walked over as well, leaving Vriska, Kanaya and Aradia on the other side.

Aradia sighed and walked over as well.

Vriska was pissed, how dare they all join that lisping freak!

Kanaya sighed, putting her hand on Vriska's shoulder.

"Let's go with them…" She said before walking over to the group. Vriska knew she had been defeated and reluctantly made her way toward them.

Sollux closed his eyes. "Equius…. I need you to start getting to work on a device to transfer us away somewhere…. A place where we can ….. Go. I know you can do it." He said softly. Sollux sighed quietly. "I'll work on…. Figuring out things."

Equius nodded and together with Nepeta, made his way back to his hive to start.

Karkat looked at Sollux… How was he supposed to know that they would go to the same place… He couldn't stand the thought of being separated from Sollux.

Sollux sighed quietly, swallowing, turning to go back to his own hive. This was the beginning of the end.

He returned to his hive in silence, shifting as he sat down in his chair, starting the programming process again. He started the program, feeling his powers suddenly flare. He cringed, throwing himself back away from the computer, falling back against the wall, his powers lashing out to the computer. He heard Karkat come in.

"Sollux?" Karkat asked when he walked in. He saw the blue and red lights coming from the bedroom. He walked into the room, seeing Sollux's eyes blazing.

Sollux looked over his eyes bright. "KK." He whispered, looking over at him. "H-Hold me." He said, his powers lashing out, reaching for him. He picked Karkat up with his psionics, carrying him over and putting him next to him. He curled up next to him, feeling hot tears start down his cheeks. "A-Aah….." he whispered, looking at him, hearing the voices get even louder.  
>Suddenly there was a huge loud crack outside.<p>

"Sollux…." Karkat was starting to get scared but he ran his fingers through Sollux's hair gently. He wrapped his other arm around Sollux's thin waist. "What's going on?" he asked, trying not to show the fear in his voice.

"I…. I don't know." He said, looking at him with scared eyes. "I'm…. Terrified." he let his shaky hands touch over Karkat's face. "Please…." He begged. "C-Can you look outside?"

Karkat nodded slowly. He was scared too but he made his way to the window, taking a peek outside. Meteors falling from the sky is what had caused the noise. "Fuck…"

Sollux blinked, looking seeing flashes of red. "We must hurry…." He gathered a few things together, picking up his computer, quickly contacting Equius.

Equius had just finished the contraption that would transport them to some other planet.

Karkat looked over at Sollux. "How do we know that we'll all be together when we get to where we are going?" He was so scared but mostly of being separated from Sollux.

"I told Equius to make it so we could only go to one place. Earth." He sighed quietly, his eyes growing solemn. "That way…. We can all be together… Living a new life. I've programed it… Somehow… I don't know how I did it, but I made it in my sleep…. I think the great Psiioniic helped me."

Karkat looked at his matesprit. "You know that you're amazing, right?" he kissed him softly.

"You're amazing too." He said, smiling, kissing him back.

Sollux smiled, leaning into him. "It's time to get ready. Eq is ready." He said, holding his face. "I'll be the last one to go. I have to destroy the portal." He said, closing his eyes, looking at him. "Come on…. Letth fly."

Karkat looked at Sollux confused. "What do you mean by that?" He asked before Sollux grabbed his hand and he felt his feet come off the ground. "Sollux! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!"

"Flying thupid." He said, smiling, holding onto him, gently rubbing his back. "It'th fine. Relax."

Karkat grabbed Sollux's shirt in a death grip, keeping his eyes closed and his face buried in Sollux's chest. He didn't like this and he was scared that they were going to get hit by a meteor or something.

Sollux put up a shield, surrounding them in a flash of blue and red light. He took off towards Eq's hive, dodging large meteors.

Karkat breathed a sigh of relief when his feet touched down on the ground. Once firmly on the earth, he backed away, gently hitting Sollux in the arm with his fist. "You are such a dick." He glared.

"I'm not." He said, smiling. "You're just thcared." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Why the hell wouldn't I be?" Karkat glowered. He moved away from Sollux and walked over to Equius's hive. "You could have at least given me a little more warning you asshat…. Or at least done something to where I wouldn't have noticed…" He pouted walking in through the door.

Sollux shrugged. Everyone was here. They had heeded to Sollux's warning. They all looked ready.

One by one they stepped onto the portal, sending them to an unknown destination. They said their goodbyes and hoped that they'd see each other in this next life. Everything outside was burning. People were screaming, crying. Sollux clamped his hand tight to Karkat's. He was the third to last person to go. Sollux would go after Eq.

"I don't want to go alone…." Karkat whispered. "Let me come with you Sol…" He looked up at Sollux, his eyes wide. "Please…." He whispered again.

Sollux looked at him, gently touching his hand. "Okay." He said quietly, frowning. "Eq…. Can you destroy the portal once we leave?" the man nodded. Sollux gently grabbed Karkat's hand, stepping onto the portal. "Let's go." He said, the portal making them disappear.

Karkat wondered around in the darkness. Where was he? He heard someone talking near him. Suddenly pain enveloped him, especially his head. Slowly his eyes opened. "W-where… Am I?"


	4. Chapter 4

He asked softly, not knowing if there was anyone actually in the room with him. He looked around for a moment, looking at all the machines that surrounding him. His body ached but nothing hurt more than his head. He slowly reached his bandaged arm up, feeling for his horns. They were gone but the area was sensitive.

"Sollux?" He asked when he heard someone come into the room.

"Mr. Vantas, you're finally awake." Said the doctor, smiling. "You took quite the fall." He said, keeping the light off. "You might have some amnesia. That was quite the accident. I'm still shocked you're alive." He put the clipboard down on the bed side table. "Is Mr. Captor a friend of yours?"

Karkat nodded. "Y-Yeah…" he said softly, his eyes widening.

"Ah, I see. He's down the hall. He hasn't woken up yet, but if you're feeling like getting up, you can go see him. I'll call a nurse in here for you."

Somehow Karkat understood everything. He remembered leaving the hive with Sollux. He remembered hearing Sollux scream. He understood the needs for this society… The nuances, the wants, the social structure. Something had clicked inside of him during the change over.

All he wanted was to see Sollux.

"Can I see Sollux now?" He asked the nurse that came in. The man nodded and helped him from the bed. He looked down, seeing his now pale pink legs under the blue and white hospital gown. "Thank you…" He mumbled as they made their way to Sollux's room. Karkat looked in before entering. There lay his matesprit, asleep and pink…. Human… But somehow, this didn't take away from Sollux's attractiveness. He smiled softly seeing Sollux twitch in his sleep.

"Can I touch him? Not inappropriately but just run my fingers through his hair? He has nightmares…" Karkat said. The nurse hesitated but nodded before letting Karkat slip into the chair by the bed. Karkat leaned forward, resting his arm against the mattress by his matesprit's shoulder as his fingers wondered through Sollux's dark brown hair. It felt the same but he had to be careful not to run over the area where Sollux's horns used to be.

"Sol…. Wake up…" He whispered, his fingers tangling in the hair.

"Has anyone else woken up?" He asked the nurse.

"Mr. Ampora, Mr. Makara and Mr. Nitram." The nurse answered.

Sollux's skin was a pale milky white. He looked frail, even laying in the bed, cuts and bruises over his face. His face was stained a light pink, showing blood flowing under the skin. He breathed quietly, through that wretched machine that made a hissing noise. When Karkat touched his hair, his eyes slowly opened. For the first time in all of his life, he looked at Karkat with one blue iris and one red iris, his eyes coming into focus behind his glasses. "N…. Nn?" he whimpered.

"Hey Sol." Karkat smiled softly. "How do you feel? By the way Gamzee, Eridan and Tav are awake." He looked over at the nurse. "Can you leave us alone for a minute?"

The nurse nodded and walked out of the room. Karkat watched before turning back to face Sollux, gently leaning over and kissing his cheek. "I'm glad you're okay." Karkat ran his hand through Sollux's hair again. "We… Are human now… Aren't we…"

Sollux nodded, his throat hurting. He cleared his throat, swallowing as he looked at Karkat, his eyes growing soft. "Yeah…" he mumbled. "I…. I think I thcreamed the entire time." He said, feeling his head pounding. "My hornth are gone huh…" he said gently rubbing his head, shivering. "I'm tho cold." He stuck out his tongue, feeling that it was indeed still bifurcated. He looked at him, reaching out with a badly bruised hand. "They told me that I would have amnethhia.." he whispered, frowning. "I must have been bleeding a lot." He said, frowning. "I bleed red."

He watched Karkat's face turn to shock. He sighed a little, running his own hand through his hair. He frowned, laying his head back against the pillow, resting his eyes. "My eyeth look creepy don't they?"

"I think they look awesome. I always have…" Karkat whispered. "So… Humans have red blood? So that means that there are no more highbloods and lowbloods… Right?" He looked at Sollux. He kinda liked the pink flush that covered Sollux's face when he brought his pale but bruised hand up to his lips, kissing it gently.

"You're too kind." He said, looking over at him. "I can still feel them." He said, making a wink in his direction. "My powers that is." He shivered, trying to turn over, grunting in pain. His glasses were tinted the colors of his eyes. "My thheet thayth that I have heterochromia. Gueth that would cover my eyeth." He smiled a little. "Tongue is on there too." He said. "However…."

"However what?" Karkat looked over at him.

"Oh." He smirked that devilish smirk of his. "You know."

Karkat's face turned bright red. "Your…" He whispered. Sollux only has one now…. Well… That kind of sucks…

Sollux laughed quietly. "You look tho down. Don't get your hopeth up. I thtill have two." He watched as Karkat's face turned from red to even redder. He laughed and put his hand up over his face, looking at his hands. His skin was pale with hints of red and blue under his skin. He knew a little about humans… He knew their blood turned blue when the oxygen was gone. He breathed in gently, looking at the tubes leading to his nose. Pure oxygen. He sighed quietly and looked over at Karkat again, who was extremely flushed.

"Now you look like Aradia." He laughed even harder, watching as Karkat's face went white.

"No way."

"Yeth way." He replied, settling back down under the covers. "I'm tho glad there ith not a catht thythtem anymore." He smiled. "Very glad."

"At least it's not candy colored anymore…" Karkat sighed. "Do you think there is enough room for me to... Come up and cuddle with you?" He asked quietly. "I was really worried when I woke up and you weren't there…" his cheeks returning to the pale pink color.

"I don't know." He said, frowning. "Ith kinda thmall." He looked for the call button. "I'll call." He gently pushed it.

The male nurse that accompanied Karkat walked into the room. "Yes?" He asked, looking at the boys.

"Can he lay with me? Heth my boyfriend… And uh…. Heth thad, tho he wanth to lay with me." Sollux stumbled over the words, his tongue getting in the way. These new teeth were bothersome. He felt over them with his tongue, frowning. "Blah."

Karkat hid his face in his hands, his face blood red. The nurse nodded. "Sure. Just be careful since you both are wounded." He turned to leave, pausing and then turned back around. "No dirty stuff." He smiled before leaving the room again.

"Did you have to tell him?" Karkat asked. "By the way… What's a boyfriend? Is it like matesprit?" he asked. Karkat was oblivious to human relationships.

Sollux laughed a little, pushing his face against his hands. "Yeah. Ith like…." He thought about it for a minute. "Loverth? Mateth?" he shrugged. "Thomething like that."

Karkat nodded. "Now scoot over so I can lay with you." He stood slowly before crawling up into the space that Sollux had made for him, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist.

"Fine." He scooted over, curling up into Karkat. He felt small and frail. "Guh… I'm tho thleepy." He sighed, looking up at him. "Bethideth." He said, looking out the closed door. "We can't do anything dirty, becauth that would require uth figuring out how." He frowned, tapping his chin. "We can figure that out when we get out of here."

"Is that all you think about? Or do you really just like torturing me?" Karkat asked. "We can still kiss though…. I'm pretty sure that would be the same…" he whispered.

Sollux laughed. "Yeah I thuppothe it would be." He smiled, gently leaning in to kiss Karkat. He felt happy and warm. "Thank you, KK." He said, laying his head on his shoulder. "I want to thleep." He curled up with him. "KK, you're thupid cute." He poked his face. "But you look weird all white and thit."

"So do you… It's weird to not see your horns and the grey…. But I… I like it…" He blushed. How did Sollux manage to turn him into a sappy bastard? "You still smell the same so that's good…" He breathed in, his face in Sollux's hair. "Let's take a nap… I'm tired."

Sollux nodded. "Good idea, fuckathh." He smiled and curled up with him, snuggling his chest.

Sollux awoke hearing beeps and buzzes. "Eh?" He had somehow in his sleep taken off his oxygen mask, and nurses were trying to pull a still asleep Karkat off of him. "Oi…" he grumbled.

Karkat awoke when Sollux spoke. His eyes opened slowly. That's when he realized that there were 4 pairs of hands on him and only one pair was Sollux's. "What?" he asked, confused as to why he was being touched.

"We need to move you back to your room." The nurse said, gently letting go of him. Sollux pulled him back into his arms. "We need to do a few tests on Mr. Captor." Sollux rolled his eyes. "Move KK."

Karkat nodded slowly, still partially asleep. He sat up and then made his way off the bed, sitting down in the chair that he had occupied earlier. He rested his head on his hand and tried to not doze off.

Sollux was helped up and put into a wheelchair, the scrubs that he had been wearing almost falling off his hips. He held onto them, sitting down into the wheelchair.

"Hey look, I'm AT." He laughed a little bit, watching Karkat nearly fall asleep in the chair as they wheeled him out for blood tests.

Karkat ended up curling back up in Sollux's bed, falling asleep again. He slept for a while before feeling someone kissing his cheek and neck. "Stop Sol…" he whispered as he scooted over on the bed.

Sollux smiled curling up next to him. He wrapped his now even more sore arms around Karkat's waist, curling up into his back. He breathed quietly, gently nipping at Karkat's ear before falling asleep again.

Karkat fell asleep soon after, his dreams going to a naughty place. His mind playing a movie of the two of them in his hive, before it had been destroyed… They lay there, wrapped in each other's arms, Sollux nipping at his neck as soft moans escaped Karkat's lips. Soon things started to progress in the dream as Karkat felt his body heat up from the pleasure. Then nothing…

A movement jostled him, causing him to wake up. "Sol?" He whispered into the now dark room.

It was the middle of the night. The days were much shorter here. The nights right now were long and cold. The room smelled like cleaning supplies and alcohol. Sollux mumbled quietly to himself, getting up out of his bed, looking at Karkat, who now woke beside him.

"Thorry, gotta pee." He said, gently touching Karkat's shoulder.

Karkat nodded and turned back over, falling asleep rather quickly but not into a deep sleep… He felt Sollux crawl back into the bed, smiling as the warm arms surrounded him again. He snuggled into Sollux's arms, a small purr escaping his lips. Wait… He was human now… He shouldn't be purring at all... He shrugged it off and let the dark comfort of sleep reclaim him.

Sollux smiled. "Goodnight." He whispered, curling up next to him.

The next few days, the pair barely left each other's side. They were only separated by shower time and when they had to have tests done on them. Karkat's bruises had turned from vibrant purple to pale yellow within the few days that they had been awake at the hospital. Everyone else had woken up and the pair was frequently visited by Terezi who was having trouble adjusting to not being able to smell and taste colors as well as she used to.

"Let's ask if we can go on a walk around the complex…" Karkat suggested to Sollux one day. They hadn't left the bed and no one had come to visit them. "It's a nice day outside…" Karkat sighed watching the branches of a tree sway gently with the late fall breeze.

"Yeah..." he said, smiling a little. "It'th... Beautiful." he said, gently stretching his arms out.

Karkat pressed the button to call the nurse. The man smiled when he came into the room, looking at the couple. "Yes Solkar?" He asked.

"Can we take a walk around the complex?"

Sollux smiled a little, poking his tongue out. The doctor nodded and gently helped Sollux get up, working on getting his IVs attached to the wheelchair.

"Guh, I have to sit in thith thing?" The doctor nodded.

"Until you heal, yes."

"I can push you Sol." Karkat smiled softly as Sollux sat in the wheelchair. The doctor nodded and walked. "How did you get more injured than me? We went through together..." He asked quietly.

"Who knowth." he said, shrugging. "I'm really underweight." he said, gently rubbing his eyes with his fingers, cleaning his glasses on his shirt.

"I know but you're adorable." Karkat kissed his cheek gently. "This will be fun. Maybe Gam and Tav are outside." He started to push the wheelchair through the halls and finally out the back door to the garden. "It's so nice out today."

"Itth a little cold." he said, rubbing his arms. "But I'm okay." he smiled, looking back over the back of his chair.

Karkat walked slowly, enjoying the time outside. There had been a lot of rain the last couple of days. "Do you want my sweater?" Karkat asked. "I'm actually pretty warm right now."

"Jutht over my shoulderth." he said, smiling. "It thmellth good out here."

"It does." Karkat said, taking the sweater off and slipping it over Sollux's shoulders. "Better?"

"Nnn." he hummed nodding his head. "You thmell good too." he smiled.

Karkat blushed slightly. "Thanks..." He ran his hand over the back of Sollux's head before leaning down by Sollux's ear. "I love you Sol." he whispered into Sollux's ear.

Sollux blushed. "Love you too." he said, smiling. "Now leth go over to the flowerth. They thmell good."

How was Sollux so adorable? Even as a human? Karkat pushed the wheelchair over to the flowers, which happened to be blue and red. "You really like blue and red don't you?" he chuckled softly.

"Yeth." he said, smiling. "I like theth colorth." He blinked his eyes one by one over at Karkat. "Thee?"

"I know and I like them too." He kissed Sollux's cheek. He had started to feel a little better about public displays of affection but he would only kiss or hold Sollux when there were a few people around.

Sollux blushed pink. "Thankth." he said, gently reaching his hand out, blushing as he touched Karkat's face, pulling him in for a gentle kiss.

Karkat blushed, almost the same color that he used to but kissed Sollux back.

Sollux blushed, smiling. He pulled back, leaning back in his wheelchair.

Karkat walked behind the wheel chair, following the path around the garden. "This is our first date..." He whispered.

"How romantic." Sollux replied sarcastically. He laughed a little, rolling his eyes.

"Well... It's the best I can do given our circumstances..." Karkat smirked. "We can go have a formal date after we get out of here..."

Sollux blushed. "Well then..." he said, blushing. "You're...Thilly."

"Why am I silly?"

"You just are." Sollux replied, smiling. "Thilly." he whispered. He wrapped the sweater around him a bit tighter. "Mmmm" he hummed quietly, his face warming up. "Mmmm~"

"Why do you look so happy?" Karkat teased. "You have been smiling a lot more since we arrived on Earth..."

Sollux nodded. "The voiceth are gone." he said, smiling. "Ith thomething that I don't have to worry about anymore." he blushed. "I'm thorry that me being happy bugth you, but juthh tho you know, I'm thill expecting you to be my matethprit."

"Why would that bug me? I'm happy too ya know." Karkat stopped walking, stepping in front of the wheelchair. "I'll always be your matesprit." He put his hand on Sollux's face, rubbing his thumb over Sollux's jaw. "If that's what you want..."

"Good." he said, smiling even wider, showing off his teeth. "I don't know if I can get uthed to thith, but I'll try." He smiled. "I'm happy you're here with me."

"Getting used to being human? Or something else?" Karkat asked, cocking his head to the left. "What's up?"

"My teeth." he rolled his eyes gently, looking over, seeing Tavros wheel up.

"Hey Tav!" Karkat said waving. "How are you?"

Tav smiled a little. "Uh... Okay. Not... Sure what to do." he said, smiling, scratching his head. "Gamzee's... All weird and stuff." he rubbed his hair.

"Have you tried talking to him?" Karkat asked. "There isn't slime here... So maybe that's the problem..."

Gamzee walked through the door and went over to the group. "Hey guys..." he said quietly.

Sollux smiled. "Hey guyth." He saw Tav give him a sad look, frowning.

"Hey Gamzee." he said, his face flushing. His skin was slightly less pale than Sollux's, almost taking on a tanner quality. He looked over at Gamzee.

Gamzee put his hand on Tavros' shoulder. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

Karkat looked between Tavros and Gamzee.

"Let's go Sol..." He said pushing the wheelchair away.

Sollux nodded, going inside with him.

Karkat wheeled Sollux back to their room. "That was nice."

Sollux nodded, getting up out of the wheelchair, his bags being reattached to the poles by the bed, food being brought in for the pair.

Karkat crawled up on the bed and started to eat from his plate. "This is pretty good." He whispered.

Sollux glared at him, shoving a carrot in his mouth, munching on it. He sighed quietly, leaning back. "Ith not bad." he said, frowning. "But I like your cooking better."

Karkat blushed. "I like your old room better than this hospital..." He kissed him gently. "Now eat."

"Well of courth." he said, smiling cutely. "I'm eating." he said, munching on more veggies.

"Besides vegetables." Karkat glared lovingly at him.

A nurse that the pair didn't know entered the room. "Mr. Vantas. The doctor would like to speak with you."

Sollux blinked and looked over at the doctor before nudging Karkat. He shifted, looking at the nurse. "Well go on." he said, starting to eat more of his food.

Karkat climbed off the bed, following the nurse out into the hall. "Yes?"

Sollux ate the rest of the food on his plate, sighing as he settled back down in the bed, sucking on a juice box.

"You are cleared to be released. We can get the paperwork ready soon." The doctor said.

* * *

><p>Gamzee looked at Tavros after they left. "I'm sorry that I've been weird lately... Coming down from a high sucks..."<p>

"It's okay Gamzee." Tavros said, blushing slightly. "I understand you completely."

"Thanks Tavbro." He smiled softly bending down and kissing Tavros' cheek softly. "You are a miracle." He fluffed Tavros' hair.

"Gamzee..." he blushed, looking over at him. "I was scared."

Gamzee backed away, "I'm sorry I scared you..." He whispered, wrapping his arms around Tavros.

Tavros blushed. "It's okay."

Gamzee grabbed the handles on Tavros' wheelchair. "Let's take a stroll." Gamzee started to walk the wheelchair around the bushes and toward the gazebo by the small pond.

Tavros relaxed, shifting slightly. "Please don't jump on and go crazy." He blushed darkly.

"I won't. I think they would get mad at me..." He walked slowly, pushing the wheelchair.

Tavros nodded, shifting a little. "They're... Making me new legs."

"That's motherfucking awesome Tavbro." Gamzee smiled. "You excited?"

"Yeah!" he said, grinning. "I'm really excited!"

"That's going to be awesome!" Gamzee smiled as they settled in the gazebo.

"Yeah... I'll be able to walk and stuff!" he said, grinning. "I'm so happy!"

"Then we can take walks and stuff. That will be awesome." Gamzee smiled stopping the wheelchair as he bent down and grabbed Tavros' hand.

"Yeah! And...I'll be able to go down stairs and stuff...and feel confident." he smiled, shifting in his chair.

Gamzee squeezed Tavros' hand. "Do you want me to put you on my shoulders?"

"Uh... That might be a bad idea." he said quietly, looking at him. "Maybe later." he blushed.

"Okay." Gamzee said. "Can I... Have a kiss?" He asked. He normally just kissed Tavros

whenever he felt like it but that seemed to make Tav feel... Uncomfortable...


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm not leaving without Sollux." The doctor looked confused.

"I understand that he is your friend but there is no need to stay any longer."

"He's not my friend. He's my boyfriend and I'm not leaving until he gets released. That's final." Karkat walked back into the room.

Sollux watched as he came back in, tilting his head. "Whath wrong?"

"Nothing much. Just something stupid." Karkat smiled softly. He didn't want Sollux to know that they wanted him to leave.

"Oh..." Sollux said, settling down quietly. "I'm thleepy. Come here." he said, reaching out for him.

Karkat smiled and walked over to the bed. "So needy Sollux. Did you think I was leaving or something?" He climbed up and wrapped his arms around Sollux. "I'm not going anywhere." He snuggled into Sollux's shoulder.

"Yeah." he said, curling up next to him. "That and I'm freezing."

"Me too." Karkat pulled Sollux closer to him. "I'm so tired..."

Sollux nodded. "I'm tired too." he said softly, licking Karkat's cheek. "Tho tired."

"You're horny... Aren't you..." Karkat blushed as Sollux's tongue ran over his cheek again.

"You know we can't... Not here..."

Sollux shook his head. "Nope." he said, taking his glasses off, pushing his nose against Karkat's.

"Just cold and wanting you."

"Then why the hell are you licking me?" Karkat growled. His emotions were somewhere

between disappointment and relief.

"Becauth I can." he grinned. "One of theth dayth I'll fill that kithmethith quadrant of yourth

too."

"They don't have quadrants here Sol..." Karkat whispered.

"In my head they do." he grinned. "Tho there."

Karkat sighed as he started to eat from his plate. "After this, let's shower then nap."

Sollux nodded. "Okay." he said, looking over at him. "I like that idea."

"Do you want to go first?" Karkat asked as he munched on a carrot.

"Thleep." he said, smiling. "I like thleeping next to you, KK." he said, grinning.

"I was talking about taking a shower dumbass. Do you want to shower first?" Karkat blushed.

"Oh." Sollux laughed. "Thath fine." He sat up. "I'll have to call for thomeone to help me." he said, pointing to his bag full of fluids. "Well... I mean, you could help me take it over to the thower."

"Not a problem." Karkat blushed even darker. It had been awhile since he saw Sollux undress and his nerves were starting to get to him as he helped walk Sollux and his bags of fluid to the shower. "Do you need help getting... Undressed?" Karkat stammered.

* * *

><p>Tavros nodded, his cheeks pink as he leaned up, gently pushing a kiss to Gamzee's lips. "Nnn..."<p>

Gamzee kissed back, it took all of his will power to not wrap his hand into Tavros' hair and pull him closer. This was all on Tavros...

Tavros smiled into the kiss, letting his hands gently rest on the sides of Gamzee's cheeks.

Gamzee smiled into the kiss as well, letting his hands fall gently onto Tavros' shoulders.

Tavros pulled back, smiling. "Mmm~" he hummed, looking at him. "Thank you, Gam."

Gamzee smiled. "You're welcome Tavbro." He kissed his cheek and then stood, going behind the wheelchair and starting to walk again.

Inside, Tavros was very happy. He had Gamzee and that was all he needed in his life.

Gamzee and Tavros sat in the gazebo, just chilling and watching the clouds go by until they were called in for dinner. Gamzee was happy and decided that maybe life was better without the slime…

Tavros smiled, looking up at Gamzee with a grin. He was so happy.

"What do you want to order for dinner tonight?" Gamzee asked Tavros.

Tavros thought about it. "I dunno." he said, looking at Gamzee. "What do you want to eat?"

"I was thinking that chicken stuff with the red sauce stuff on it." Gamzee said.

"That sounds good, Gamzee." Tavros said, smiling.

"Let's order that then." Gamzee wheeled the wheelchair to the nurse's desk. "We want to put our orders in for dinner."

Tavros smiled, shifting in the chair as he was wheeled inside by Gamzee. "Thanks Gamzee." he said, grinning.

"No problem Tavbro." Gamzee wheel Tavros back to their room, sitting on the bed as they waited for the nurse to bring their food

Tavros squirmed in the bed, flopping on his stomach. "So soft." he smiled.

The nurse walked in with two trays of Chicken Parmesan. "Here you go boys." She sat it down on their table and left. Gamzee grabbed his fork and started to eat.

Tavros started eating, making soft noises of content. "Mmmmm~"

"Is it good?" Gamzee asked between bites.

"Very!" Tavros said, grinning.

Gamzee smiled, happy to see Tavros smiling again. "I'm really sorry that I've been acting so weird lately..."

"It's really fine." Tavros said, smiling. "I forgive you." he cleaned his plate in moments.

Gamzee got off his bed and walked over to Tavros'. "Can I lay with you for a bit?"

"Yeah!" Tavros said, rubbing his full belly. "That's an awesome idea." he smiled, scooting to one side, patting the spot next to him.

Gamzee smiled climbing up onto the bed and settling in.

Tavros smiled, curling up next to Gamzee, falling asleep.

* * *

><p>"With my thirt yeah." Sollux said quietly, He looked at Karkat and blushed, his cheeks pink. "I can do the retht mythelf."<p>

"Okay." Karkat slipped his fingers under Sollux's shirt trying not to blush even darker. "Raise your arms."

Sollux lifted his arms, raising the tube leading into his hand. "Careful." he muttered, looking at him.

Karkat gently lifted the shirt over Sollux's head, guiding the tubing through the arm and bringing it over the bag of fluids. "What do they do with this while you shower?" He asked.

"They usually jutht put it on the pole and let me thower." he said, gently stepping into the shower.

Karkat nodded and attached the bag to the pole and stepped out of the bathroom. His face felt hot with the blush that he knew was there. "Fuck..." He whispered as he sat back on their bed.

Sollux showered quickly, grabbing for a towel and wrapping it around his lower half as he stepped out. "F-Fuck itth cold."

Karkat sat on the bed, watching TV. He heard the water shut off and walked over to the bathroom. "Do you need any help Sol?"

Sollux made a soft noise. "Where in fuckth name did you put my clothhh?"

"They are on the sink dipshit." Karkat said through the door, chuckling a little.

"Oh..." Sollux sighed, pulling the pants on, grabbing the shirt as he walked out of the bathroom, pulling the pole with the bags with him. He stepped out barefoot onto the tile floor, not realizing that his feet were soaked. He mis-stepped, slipping and falling, pulling the bag and pole down over top of him. "Fuck!"

Karkat jumped off the bed and crossed the room quickly. "Sol..." He gently pulled the pole off of Sollux. "Sollux... You okay?"

Sollux grumbled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, but fuck that hurt..."he shifted, trying to get up, holding onto Karkat for support. "Ow." He sighed quietly, rubbing his backside as he walked over to the bed, pulling the cart with him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Karkat asked, worried. "Should I call a nurse?"

Sollux shook his head. "No. Don't want the nurth feeling around on my athh." he grumbled, shifting as he sat down on the bed, wincing slightly. "I'm fine."

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux, kissing his cheek gently. "Lay down. I'm going to go shower." He crawled off the bed and went into the shower.

Sollux sighed and laid back on his back, gently closing his eyes. "Ow..." he mumbled, sighing deeply as he pulled the covers over him. He shivered. "KK, hurry up..."

Karkat showered quickly and when he came out, Sollux was asleep. Karkat sighed at his boyfriend's adorableness and crawled into the bed, wrapping his arms around Sollux.

Sollux made a soft snoring noise, having fallen asleep on his back. His mouth gaped open, his tongue gently lolling out of the side of his mouth.

"Sol, turn over. You're pushing me off the bed." Karkat whispered into Sollux's ear.

Sollux grunted, a shiver running through his body. "Nn." he muttered, turning onto his side.

Karkat wrapped his arms tighter around Sollux, pulling him closer. "I love you." He whispered into Sollux's ear before kissing his cheek.

Sollux slept late, rubbing his eyes after the nurse had already switched over his medicine in his IV, and even after she had brought him breakfast.

Karkat sat on the bed, eating his breakfast. "Jeez Sol. How long are you going to sleep?"

Sollux grunted, rolling over. "Nnn..."

Karkat gently ran his hand through Sollux's hair. "You need to wake up and eat, Sol"

Sollux whimpered. "I don't want to." he said, rubbing his eyes, feeling around for his glasses. Karkat must have taken them off for him when he fell asleep. "Glatheth..." He mumbled.

Karkat looked down at Sollux. "Sit up and I'll give you your glasses back." He said. "Actually, let me feed you and then I'll give them back." He blushed. Why the hell had he said that?

Sollux rolled onto his back, opening his mouth, keeping his eyes closed. "Ahh~"

"Sit up you fucktard. Do you want to choke?" Karkat grumbled.

Sollux sat up, glaring at Karkat before opening his mouth again.

Karkat smirked piercing the carrot with the fork and holding it up to Sollux's mouth. "Say ah."

Sollux opened his mouth, his eyes closed.

Karkat stuck the fork gently into Sollux's mouth, his face red. Somehow this was erotic... 'Stop thinking like that you dumbass.' Karkat scolded himself mentally.

Sollux munched on the carrot, swallowing it before opening his mouth again.

Karkat picked up another piece of food using the fork and gently placed it into Sollux's mouth.

Sollux munched before swallowing. "Nyaa~" he opened his mouth again, a smirk on the edges of his lips.

Karkat blushed. "You're a dick. You know that right?" Karkat shoved the next piece of food into Sollux's mouth.

Sollux nodded. "Yup. I'm aware." he said, grinning. He opened his mouth again, smirking.

Karkat brought the fork up to his mouth, holding the carrot in between his teeth. "Come get it." He tried to say.

Sollux opened his eyes. "Dick." he muttered, leaning up and biting the carrot in half, eating his half. "Heh." he said, smiling.

"You love it." Karkat smirked back. "What do you want this time? And how do you want it? My teeth or the fork?" Karkat grinned widely. What the hell was making him act like this?

"Fork." Sollux said as he parted his lips, his mouth opening wide. "Aah~"

Karkat rolled his eyes. "You didn't tell me what you want to eat."

"Whatever ith on the plate. I can't thee it." he said, blinking at him.

Karkat picked up a piece of steak that was on the plate. "Say ah." He smirked.

Sollux opened his mouth wide. "Aah~" he hummed, flicking his tongue out.

Karkat moved closer to Sollux's tongue, taking it into his mouth. 'Revenge is sweet.' He thought

to himself as he gently sucked on Sollux's tongue.

"W-Www..." He gasped out, moaning quietly. "Nnn... Nn..." He couldn't protest. It felt too

amazing.

Karkat pulled back, a smirk on his face. "Revenge is sweet." He grinned widely as he brought the fork up to Sollux's mouth.

Sollux blushed dark red. "You're mean, KK." he said, opening his mouth, glaring at him, making sure he didn't do something like that again.

"I'm not going to again but I had to get revenge." Karkat smiled. "Besides, you know you enjoyed it."

"I did." he said, smirking as he took a bite of steak. "I'm happy to have you."

"I'm happy to have you too." Karkat smiled, getting another piece of steak speared onto the fork.

"You're too kind, KK." he said, smiling, opening his mouth again for more food

Karkat brought the fork up to Sollux's mouth. "This is... Kinda... Nice..."

"How tho?" he asked, blinking at him. "Becauth we're domethtic now or thomething?" he smiled, touching Karkat's face.

"No. Because you are so adorable when you're flustered." Karkat smiled, moving his face to kiss Sollux's hand. "And you're all mine..."

"Yup." He said, smiling as he leaned into the touches and kisses. "You're mine and I'm yourth." he pulled Karkat's hands to his face, gently kissing his fingers and nipping the tips.

Karkat blushed darkly. "I love you." He whispered before kissing Sollux's hand again.

"I love you too." He whispered back, smiling. "I want to go on a real date with you whenever we get out of here." he said softly, smiling.

"Same here." Karkat smiled, letting his other hand run through Sollux's hair. "But first you need to get better so we can leave."

"Yeah." he said, smiling a little. He laid back, rubbing his arms, sighing. "I think I will in time." he said. "Maybe you can talk to them and let them make me get out of -here. Maybe I've gained enough weight."

* * *

><p>Gamzee played with Tavros' Mohawk for a bit before falling asleep as well. He felt more content than he had in a long time.<p>

Tavros snuggled up to Gamzee in his sleep, wrapping his arms around him tightly.

Gamzee kissed the top of Tavros' head after waking up from the shift.

Tavros made a cute noise, snuggling his face into Gamzee's chest more.

Gamzee smiled. "Night Tavbro."

The next day the doctor came in to Tavros' room to ready him for surgery. "Gamzee..." he mumbled, looking at him. "I'm scared."

"It'll be fine Tavbro. And once you're all healed, we'll take a long walk around the garden! Okay?" He kissed the top of Tavros' head.

Tavros nodded, quivering as he gently touched Gamzee's face. "I'm... So scared." he said, gently gripping Gamzee's hand. "I'm sorry I'm so... Weak."

"You're not weak. It's okay to be scared but just remember that I'm here for you and that everything will be okay!" Gamzee smiled. "Do you want a kiss before you go?"

"Thank you Gamzee." he said quietly as he was helped into a wheelchair, and led out of the room.

"Good luck Tavbro." Gamzee smiled as he laid back down, hugging Tavros' pillow to calm the fluttering in his chest.

Tavros was in surgery for what seemed like forever. He sat in the recovery room for even longer before finally being brought back into his room, his legs bandaged.

"Tav! How'd it go?" Gamzee asked when Tavros came back in the room.

Tavros felt sleepy. He was placed on the bed and covered in blankets. "Mmmm... My body feels all tingly." he said, looking at Gamzee. "Am I gross now?"

"No! You're a miracle and the legs are going to be a miracle too!" Gamzee ran his thumb over Tavros' cheek.

Tavros smiled. "Mmm... Gamzee, Thank you."

"Now rest, Tavbro. You need to concentrate on healing," Gamzee smiled down at him.

Tavros smiled. "Thanks Bro." He said, touching Gamzee's face. "You're so sweet."

Gamzee blushed. "You are too..." He said softly. "Can I have a kiss before you rest?" He asked, his blush becoming darker.

He nodded. He gently leaned up, pushing a kiss to Gamzee's lips.

Gamzee kissed back, making sure to be gentle since Tavros had just gotten out of surgery. He pulled back for a moment. "I... I love you Tavbro..."

Tavros smiled. "I love you too." he said, smiling.

Gamzee smiled and kissed Tavros again gently. "You need to rest."

Tavros nodded, closing his eyes. "Thank you Gamzee."

Gamzee sat on the edge of Tavros' bed and gently pet his hair, watching as he fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"We can ask our nurse to weigh you and see if you have." Karkat said as he lay on his side, playing with Sollux's fingers. "Then there is the issue of me getting released with you..."

"How?" he asked softly, letting Karkat do whatever it was that he wanted. "Are you not better?"

"Well... I don't know... I haven't had to talk to the doctor for a while... I guess I'm better but..." Karkat paused. Sollux was sure to see that he had been able to be released a few days ago...

He frowned. "Leth talk together then." he said softly. "I'm sure I'm fine." he whispered, gently touching Karkat's cheek. "It'll be fine."

Karkat nodded. He felt guilty for not telling Sollux that he was completely fine and had been for a few days but he also felt scared that Sollux would think he was going to leave or something...

Sollux pushed the button for the nurse and waited. It wouldn't be long

"Yes Soklar?" The man asked. He had started to call the pair that a couple days after they woke up. He thought it was cute how they clung to one another. "What do you guys need?"

"Karkat wanth to know when I'll be able to go home." he said, sitting up. He was still sore from the fall, but it wasn't anything serious. He was sure of it.

"The doctor wanted to run some more tests on you tomorrow so it might take a few more days but I think soon. You're almost up to the weight goal we had set." The man smiled. "As for Karkat, he could have been released a few days ago."

Sollux looked over at Karkat. "Dumbath, why didn't you go home?" he asked, his face scowling for a brief moment. It was so sweet that Karkat wanted to stay with him. He felt really...happy. He felt his heart swell in his chest.

"Because... I didn't want you to think that I was leaving you... Right after I told the doctor no you said you thought I was leaving and it made me sad..." Karkat admitted. The nurse turned to leave. "Call me if you two need anything."

Sollux nodded, flopping back down on the bed. "I'm tho bored." he said quietly, looking at Karkat. "I'm... I'm thill tho happy that you're thaying with me."

Karkat smiled at him. "I told you that I'm not going anywhere."

He smiled. "Thankth." he said, curling up.

A few days passed and Karkat smiled as he changed into some casual clothes. "You ready yet Sol? They'll be back with our paperwork soon."

Sollux nodded, finally having had that stupid needle removed from his hand. He pulled on a shirt. It was identical to the ones he wore back on Alternia with his sign on the front. He pulled on some pants and sighed, pulling on his shoes.

"Are you excited?" Karkat asked, turning to face Sollux. "Tav said we're roommates in the apartment too."

Sollux nodded. "I'm excited in a calm way." he said, stretching his arms out, yawning big. "I have a feeling that at thcool I'm gonna get made fun of because of my tongue."

"I think your tongue is hot and that's all you need to worry about." Karkat smirked, nibbling at Sollux's ear.

Sollux blushed. "Oi..." he muttered, looking at him with a dangerous glare.

"You love me." Karkat smirked. "Now. Let's get the hell out of here!"

Sollux nodded. "Wait." He said, holding onto Karkat's shoulder. "How we gonna get to the apartment?" he asked.

"Equius is coming to get us." Karkat said, wrapping his arm around Sollux's waist.

"How ith Eq coming to get uth?" he asked, leaning into Karkat

"Apparently he can... 'Drive' I think is the human word. Either way, he can operate some sort of transportation device." Karkat said. Even though Sollux is taller than Karkat, Karkat really liked it when Sollux leaned on him.

"Oh... Thath weird." he rolled his eyes. "Oh well. Leth get ready to go meet him then." he rubbed his arms. He gently turned and faced Karkat, putting a kiss on his lips.

Karkat kissed him back and surrounded Sollux with his arms. "I'm glad that we can finally leave this place."

"Thame." he said, kissing Karkat's forehead. "Leth go. I hear honking... And I know ith not Gam."

Karkat chuckled lightly as they walked toward the sound of the honking.

"Hey guys!" Nepeta purred when she saw them.

Sollux sighed quietly, looking at Nepeta. Her hair was curly around her ears, her face still grinning regardless of her lack of horns. She wore a hat with cat ears and a fake tail instead. Equius sat behind the wheel of the car, in a sleeveless shirt, a wife beater Sollux guessed they were called, jeans and a pair of scratched up sunglasses. His hair was greasy with sweat and pulled back into a pony tail. Gross, Sollux thought to himself.

Karkat sighed and climbed into the car. "Let's just go home..." He said quietly, leaning on Sollux when he climbed in. Karkat was exhausted for some reason.

Sollux nodded, shifting in the seat as Equius drove off in a slightly terrifying manner.

Sollux suddenly feared for his life.

Much to the surprise of Sollux and Karkat, they made it to the apartment in one piece. Karkat jumped out of the car as soon as it came to a stop, thanking unknown deities for sparing their lives.

Sollux smiled weakly at Nepeta, as a kind of shame as to why she stuck so closely to Eq.

Sollux walked with his small bag of stuff the doctor had given him up the two flights of stairs to the apartment. He opened the door with the keys he had in bag. The door swung open and revealed their new home.

"This is nice..." Karkat said when they walked in. "It looks like all of our stuff is here..."

"Yeah." Sollux said, going over to his computer which was set up in a corner. "This is nice." he said, gently touching it.

Karkat walked over to Sollux and wrapped his arms around his waist, letting his head snuggle between his shoulders. "I'm glad you're here..."

Sollux smiled. "I'm glad too." he said, turning to face him. He held Karkat close, leaning back against the wall.

"Shall we explore?" Karkat asked. He was curious about the lay out of the apartment and he want to know where his stuff was located.

"Thure." he said, moving away from his desk. He followed Karkat into the other rooms of the apartment, exploring the kitchen area, the bathroom and their shared bedroom.

"I'm going to say that the blue and red dresser is yours..." Karkat tried not to laugh. "Did you plan that?"

"I did no thuch thing." he said, snorting. "The yellow theeth, yeth." he said, smiling.

"Liar." Karkat grumbled sitting on the red bed. "Did you plan for us to have separate beds? Or was that another fluke?"

"Fluke." he said, crossing his arms. "We can share mine." he tapped into his powers, using them to shove the two beds together. "Or that."

"You almost squished my legs you fucktard!" Karkat grumbled. "Be careful with those powers of yours. Wait... You can still use them here?... That's awesome!"

Sollux nodded. "I felt them back at the hothpital, but I didn't wanna uth them." he shrugged. "I'm thorry I almotht thmathed your legth."

"If you're really sorry then you'll come over here and cuddle with me, dipthit." Karkat smirked. Yes, the picking on had returned but it wasn't going to be nearly as bad or mean as it used to be.

Sollux poked out his tongue, walking over to the bed, flopping his body down on the two. "Heh."

Karkat snuggled close to him. He hadn't meant to fall asleep but the beds were comfortable plus Sollux was there. When Karkat woke up, he was alone in the room. "Sol..."

Sollux sat in the other room, his hands busy on the keyboard, programming something. His mind in full take as he sat behind the computer screen in the corner, the glow the only thing illuminating the room.

Karkat climbed off the beds and made his way to the living room. "Sol... What time is it?"

"1:43 am." he said quietly, not looking up from the computer screen.

"What are you programming?" He asked walking up behind Sollux, yawning softly.

"Thtuff." he said quietly, rubbing his eyes, his mouth opening in a yawn.

"How long have you been in here?" Karkat placed his hands on Sollux's shoulders. "You need to come lay down."

"I will when I'm done." he said, hand gripping the mouse on the computer tighter, his nails gently digging into the soft supple pads on the sides. "I'm tho clothe."

"Come to bed as soon as you're done. I'll be waiting for you." Karkat sighed as he kissed Sollux's cheek before heading back into their bedroom.

Sollux nodded.

Another 2 hours passed and Sollux had not yet moved from his spot. Instead he felt his head droop, falling against the desk, sleeping quietly.

Karkat had been fighting to stay awake this entire time. He looked at the clock, 3:49 am. He sighed getting up and walking back into the living room, bringing one of the blankets with him. He knew that Sollux would stay at the computer until he finished his program. He smirked seeing Sollux asleep with his head on the desk. "You idiot." Karkat whispered as he covered Sollux's shoulders with the blanket. He headed back to the room, curling up on the bed and falling back asleep.

Headache, was Sollux's first thought as he woke up, his mind reeling. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. His glasses had been taken off, and a blanket draped around his shoulders. He shivered, pulling it around him, sniffing. "Nnn..." he smelled food from in the kitchen. He rubbed his eyes, putting his glasses on his face.

"Morning." Karkat yelled from the kitchen, seeing Sollux shift. "Breakfast is almost done."

Sollux grumbled. "Fucking..." he grumbled louder, letting his head hit the desk. "What are you a houthe wife?"

"Say that again and I won't let you touch me for a month." Karkat spat. "I am not your housewife. I'm just an awesome boyfriend who can cook."

"Mhmmm..." Sollux grumbled. "My head ith killing me." he muttered, rubbing his eyes again, closing them. "Ugh..."

Karkat popped a couple pills from a bottle that said pain relief on the label. With them, a plate of bacon and eggs and a glass of orange juice he went to the computer. "Here, take this." He handed everything to Sollux.

Sollux pushed it to the side of the desk, starting to eat quietly before downing two pills.

"Go lay down on the couch and wait for the medicine to kick in before you start your programming rampage again." Karkat sighed heavily. "We don't want you ending up in the hospital again."

Sollux nodded, pushing the now empty plate away, sighing as he flopped down on the couch, face down. "Nnn..."

Karkat sat in one of the chairs and ate his breakfast, watching as Sollux fell asleep. With a sigh, he stood and took his plate to the kitchen before returning to the living room and relocating the blanket. "Sweet dreams Sollux."

Sollux slept for several hours, finally waking again with a big yawn. He sat up, feeling around for his glasses that have seemingly poofed again from his grasp. "KK..." he grumbled. "KK!" his voice got louder.

"I'm in the shower you fucktard! Your glasses are on the floor by the couch!" He yelled from the bathroom. He sighed letting the water rinse the shampoo from his hair.

Sollux grumbled, grabbing them as he pushed them up his nose. He moved back over to his computer, finishing a few more lines of code before grinning widely. "HAHAHAHA"

Karkat finished his shower and walked out of the bathroom, holding the towel around his waist. "What are you laughing at, fuckwad?"

"I juth finithed the motht awethome thing ever." He grinned. "Any minute now we thould be rich."

"Why are we going to be rich?" Karkat walked over to the computer, holding onto the towel tightly.

"Well." he tapped his chin, pushing his glasses up. "I just created a hack to let me hack into 200 different random bank accountth without anyone EVER finding out, becauth I'm amathing, but bethidth that, we will be getting money from them tho we can do what we want. I'm the thmartetht hacker ever, tho I'm tho good." he leaned back in his chair, smirking widely. "Heh."

"Okay... How will people not know that we are stealing money from them?" Karkat asked. "You know what... Nevermind... I don't really care." He said before he started to walk back towards the bedroom to get dressed.

Sollux rolled his eyes. "Becauth I'm amathing, remember?" he got up, following Karkat into the bedroom. "Don't be tho mean, KK."

"How am I being mean?" Karkat asked. "I know you're amazing. Why else would I be red for you?"

Sollux laughed. "Pthhhhhhhhth." he shoved Karkat facedown onto the bed, crawling over him, flopping down on his back.

"What are you doing?" Karkat asked, his face red. The towel had come up around his thighs, dangerously close to exposing him completely.

Sollux laughed. "Goofy." he smirked and rolled off of him, sighing quietly as he rubbed Karkat's back.

"Tease!" Karkat grumbled getting off the bed. "You are a fucking nooksniffer." Karkat mumbled as he rummaged through his dresser, getting some clothes to change into.

Sollux rolled his eyes. "Then come here bulge thucker." he said, glaring at him.

"Why should I?" Karkat retorted, his face red as he stared at the clothes in his hand.

"Becauthe." he said, smirking. "I thaid tho."

"Too bad." Karkat stood, taking care that the towel didn't rise as he did so. He started leave the room, secretly hoping that Sollux would stop him before he got into the hallway.

Sollux grumbled, latching out with his powers, grabbing hold of Karkat's body, pulling him back into the room.

"WHAT THE FUCK! PUT ME DOWN!" Karkat yelled. He hated it when Sollux used his powers on him but at the same time he was happy that Sollux had stopped him from leaving.

Sollux pulled him back in the room, making him hover just a few inches off the ground. "Heh." he said, looking at him. "I told you to come here and you didn't lithen."

Karkat could feel Sollux's psionics start to raise the towel from his legs. He dropped the clothes, using his hands to hold the towel down, knowing that if Sollux really wanted to he could keep Karkat from moving. "You're a dick!"

"Only a little." he said, smirking.

Karkat glared at him. "Put me down Sollux." He growled.

Sollux frowned. "But thath no fun." he said, pouting. "Ithn't it?"

"Then what do you want from me? All I want is to put some warm clothes on!" Karkat grumbled. "It's not like we would know what we were doing if we did anything!"

Sollux laughed. He released his powers, smirking as he got up, walking back into the other room, sitting back down at his computer, flipping the screen on.

Karkat was shocked. Sollux was going to look up how human guys have sex... He was screwed. Literally... But he tried to calm himself down and change into the clothes that had been scattered to the floor. Finally, he pulled the shirt over his head. "How did Sollux's shirt get in my dresser?" He asked himself. He shrugged and decided that it didn't matter. What mattered was saving his ass... In a much more literal sense than he knew.

Sollux sighed quietly, looking up all sorts of information. To be honest, he was slightly afraid of this own info. He shut the screen off, shivering as he went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. "What the fuck..."

Karkat walked cautiously into the living room. He peeked around the corner, seeing that Sollux wasn't at the computer. He knew that he had no chance of hacking Sollux's profile before he got back. "Fuck..." He whispered before heading back into the bedroom, attempting to mentally prepare himself for whatever Sollux decided to do to him. "It can't hurt that bad... Can it?"


	7. Chapter 7

Sollux sat in the kitchen, trying to figure out how in the hell... He scratched his head, rubbing his eyes. This was complicated. How in the hell did people do this? He walked back into the living room, seeing Karkat walking back. He used his powers, reaching out and grabbing Karkat, bringing him into the living room, sitting him on the couch.

"Will you stop doing that?" Karkat almost pleaded. He was worried that Sollux wouldn't like his body anymore... Somehow his biggest issue with this was his looks.

Sollux sighed. "Will you thut up for a minute?" he glared, wishing he could still have his fangs to make him look a bit more intimidating. "Now lithen. I don't know how to do thith."

Karkat nodded, feeling really insecure. He wanted Sollux to hold him but there was no way in hell that Karkat was going to admit it. "Maybe one of the others have figured... Something out..."

Sollux sighed. "I'm pretty much the wortht matethprit ever huh." he grumbled, letting Karkat go. "Horrible."

"No you're not Sol! I'm just..." Karkat sighed. "I'm just scared that... That you won't like me anymore since I don't look the same..." He blushed, turning away. "You're an amazing matesprit but I'm... I'm scared... That I'm not... A good matesprit..."

Sollux sighed. "KK..." He looked over at him. "You're beautiful no matter what." he said softly. He got up, gently sitting down next to him. He laid his head against Karkat's chest, sighing softly. "I love you, KK. I will alwayth."

"I love you too Sol." Karkat smiled. "Let's try to figure it out together. Okay?"

Sollux nodded, wrapping his arms around Karkat. He hated feeling insecure. He wanted nothing but to be held and loved by Karkat much as he cared for him.

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux. "Hey look at me." Karkat whispered.

Sollux swallowed back the tears. Why was he crying? Why did he feel so pathetic? He looked up at Karkat, his eyes filled with clear tears that threatened to drip down his face. "KK..." he said, biting his lip gently.

"I love you so much Sol. Don't ever forget that." He leaned down and gently kissed Sollux's lips before moving to his cheeks and then over the now-closed eyelids. "We'll figure this out."

Sollux nodded, burying his head in Karkat's shoulder. He let out a shaky breath, gently wrapping his arms tightly around Karkat's middle section

Karkat ran his hand through Sollux's hair. He felt his shoulder become wet as Sollux released his emotions. He kissed the top of Sollux's head before gently pulling away. "Do you want to start trying to figure it out now? Or do you want to wait until a later time?" He gently nipped at Sollux's ear.

Sollux shrugged. "I... It doethn't matter." he said quietly. "I... I just want to thpend thome time with you for now." he said, running his hand over Karkat's side. "You're tho thweet to me. I almotht can't take it."

Karkat smiled, kissing Sollux's forehead gently. He pulled Sollux closer. "I can't believe that you're being this clingy." Karkat said with obvious sarcasm. "But I like it." He smiled down at Sollux before gently pressing his lips to Sollux's. "I love you and you are the most amazing matesprit ever and you are the only one who understands my… Issues… And you are just amazing in general so... Yeah…" Karkat blushed as he told Sollux what he really thought instead of his normal sarcastic remarks. "I'm glad you're here…"

Sollux sniffed a little, looking up and touching Karkat's face. "And you know what?" he said, his face looking soft and peaceful. "I think you're just ath amazing." Sollux truly felt that too. Karkat was there for him even when he had gone slightly insane with certain things. It was nice to have someone to rely on.

"Are you hungry or would you rather just cuddle some more?" Karkat asked, his forehead resting on Sollux' shoulder.

"I'll be fine." he said, wrapping his thin arms around Karkat's middle. "I'll be fine now that you're here."

"I never left. I was always here dumbass." Karkat smirked.

"I know." he said, scrunching up his nose, pushing his glasses up slightly. "We should... Retht. We have thcool tomorrow right?"

"That's what Terezi said." Karkat nodded against Sollux's shoulder. "I don't feel like getting up... I'm trusting you to not to drop us with your powers..."

Sollux couldn't help but smile a little. He shifted his powers, making it so Sollux was laying overtop Karkat. "Mmm..." he buried his face in his chest.

"Please... Please don't drop me..." Karkat whimpered. He was absolutely petrified but the psionics are a part of Sollux and therefore they were part of him. At least that's what he tried to make himself think.

Sollux laughed a little, smiling as he laid them both on the couch gently, letting the psionics fade.

Karkat breathed a sigh of relief into Sollux's shoulder. He felt the fear fade away. "I actually meant to our room but this works better."

Sollux smiled. "We'll be fine here for now." he said softly, his cheeks slightly pink.

They laid there and talked for a little bit before Karkat finally fell asleep.

Sollux watched him fall asleep before he gently got up, using his powers. He carried Karkat into the bedroom, laying him down. Sollux smiled, tucking him in as he stripped down to nothing but his boxers before climbing into bed.

Karkat woke up to a horribly obnoxious ringing sound. "What is that?" He sat up grumbling before realizing that he and Sollux were in their room. He looked on the small table by what was supposed to be his bed. There, a little red box with red numbers yelled at him. "SHUT UP!"

Sollux heard the noise. He grumbled angrily before using his powers to pick up the device and smash it against the wall until it stopped beeping.

"Thank you so much!" Karkat let himself fall back on the bed. "Why does human school start so early?"

Sollux grumbled. "Who knowth." he grumbled. His lisp was worst in the morning. He grumbled some unintelligent nonsense and shoved his face into a pillow.

Karkat sighed. "I guess we have to get up…. What do you want for breakfast?" Karkat asked, sitting up again. He climbed over Sollux to get off the bed and headed towards the kitchen after Sollux answered.

Sollux stayed face down against the pillow, grumbling softly as he fell back asleep, covering himself with his blanket.

Karkat came in 20 minutes later with a plate of honey pancakes. "Sol. I have honey pancakes." He whispered into Sollux's ear when he crawled on the bed. "You stocked us with a shit ton of honey."

Sollux made a whimpering noise, grasping the pillow beneath him. "Nnn anna none."

"You have to." Karkat rubbed the back of Sollux's leg gently before letting it slip between his legs. He "accidentally" brushed his hand against where Sollux's bulges had been when they were trolls. From looking at himself, he knew that should be about where the human sex organs were.

Sollux made a noise of discomfort, flipping over, glaring at Karkat with a deadly glare. "Don't...You...Dare."

"Do what?" Karkat asked as innocently as he could. "I don't know what you're talking about." He climbed off the bed.

Sollux grumbled, flopping back against the pillow. "Fuck ath." he said, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "Nnnn..."

"Get up. You need to eat before school."

"I don't wanna move." he grumbled, looking through his fingers at Karkat. "I'm comfy."

Karkat sat the plate down on the end table before climbing on the bed again. "I know but we have to go to school. But at least we only have to go for a few months." He laid down and snuggled up to Sollux. "Plus we have all weekend to be in bed."

"Thill." he said softly, rolling over. "Ith too early..." He thought maybe a shower would be nice... But he didn't feel like walking. "Nnngh..." he sighed, using his powers to pick himself up, carrying his half limp body into the bathroom. "Don't feel like walking."

"Do... Do you..." Karkat blushed deep red. He needed Sollux to have a little bit of motivation to do something... "Want me to... To s-shower... With you..." He couldn't look Sollux in the eyes as he said it.

Sollux shrugged his shoulders, letting his bare feet touch the cold floor of the bathroom. "Thure if you want." he couldn't help but feel his cheeks blush dark red, but he didn't want to tell that to Karkat.

Karkat blushed as he nodded slightly. Could he really do this or was he going to chicken out? He walked into the bathroom with Sollux. It was do or run away and hurt him... 'Fuck...' Karkat thought to himself as he watched Sollux rid himself of his shirt.

Sollux rubbed his eyes. He was practically blind without his glasses and he stared at Karkat, his expression blank. He turned on the hot water, making the water almost so hot it was unbearable. He sighed quietly, ridding himself of his boxers before stepping into the shower.

Karkat's face was bright red when he stepped into the shower. He couldn't look at Sollux and so he concentrated on the blue and red tiled floor of the shower. He was subjecting himself to mental torture...

"KK." Sollux said softly, washing his hair. "I'm thill not uthed to thith ... No horn thing." he said quietly, frowning. "Ith jutht not the thame."

"I know but we don't really have a choice..." Karkat sighed as he scrubbed the shampoo into his hair. He was facing away from Sollux and trying not to think about the things that Nepeta had found for him.

"KK," he said quietly, rinsing his hair. "Hand me the thoap" His lisp was heavier in the morning, which made him feel pretty useless. He sighed quietly, turning to face Karkat, his hands gently resting on his shoulders. "I can't thee it."

Karkat stiffened his thoughts in a very dirty place. "Y-yeah..." Karkat grabbed the bottle of honey scented body wash and handed it over his shoulder to Sollux. Or at least he tried to...

Sollux frowned, turning Karkat around to face him. He grinned slightly, poking his tongue out as he placed a kiss on Karkat's lips. "I'm over here fuck ath."

Karkat couldn't breathe for the moment that Sollux kissed him. He stood there, bottle of body wash in hand and face deep red as Sollux tangled his thin fingers into Karkat's soaked hair. He let out a soft moan as his body gently pushed against Sollux's. "Sol... I... I uh..." He couldn't speak.

"Heh." he smiled. "You're thilly. Leth hurry before we're late." he smiled, gently touching his face. He washed himself quickly, rinsing off and turning off the water.

Karkat watched as Sollux got dressed, his mind racing. Should he tell Sollux that he knew what to do about finding the information? If he did, would Sollux think him sex-craved or would he rejoice? "Sol... Do you know..." He couldn't say it... "What human school is like?"

"Nope." he said, his tongue fumbling over words already. He finally slipped his glasses on before starting to eat quietly. He wore a pair of lose fitting jeans black jeans, a black tank with a yellow shirt that slipped off both shoulders. It hid the fact that he was horribly skinny and lanky. He sighed, fumbling with a necklace he had found with his sign on it. It reminded him of his past life.

Karkat finally found a shirt that he felt was acceptable for school. It was brown with the symbol for the knight of blood, his god tier. He put on the thick, black choker that had his sign on it and finished with a pair of black shoes. "Terezi should be here soon to show us how to get there..."

"We're waiting on the blind girl to thow uth how to get to thcool?" he laughed. "KK thath thupid."

"She's not by herself you nutfuck. She has Nepeta with her." Karkat glared at him. "We have to ride this thing called a 'bus'."

"Oh, a buth." he shrugged. "I gueth." he dug through the folder on the table that had their school information on it. "Thome thcool called... Thhhhehawkth high thcool or thomething."

"Seahawks? Well, that's stupid." Karkat shrugged. He was glad that with Nepeta helping them get to school that he had sworn her to keep her mouth shut. If she even mentioned the word sex then he was going to beat her to a pulp. A knock sounded through the apartment and Karkat went to answer it. "Hey Terezi. Hey Nepeta."

Sollux waved slightly from the kitchen, going instead to do something with his hair now that it was dry.

Terezi got close to Karkat's face. "Nepeta told me what you had her research for you." She smirked. She may not have been able to see but she knew that Karkat was cherry red, like he used to smell. "Could he not find anything like that?" She asked.

"I-I don't know if he did or not... He never told me..." Karkat looked away. Nepeta had busied herself with playing with one of the wind chimes by the patio door.

Sollux returned from being in the bathroom with dried hair and slightly styled. He pushed his glasses up on his nose. "I didn't find what?"

"Karkat was going to have you find a recipe for honey cookies but Nepeta found it for him." Terezi smiled at Sollux. "What time is it?"

"Oh." he shrugged. "I dunno." he frowned and looked away, fumbling over a bag..

"It's like 7:15." Karkat said softly.

"The bus comes in like 5 minutes so we need to go downstairs." Terezi said. "Karkat get Nepeta."

Sollux shuffled to the door, his black bag slung over one shoulder, his folder and stuff inside.

Karkat grabbed the red bag from the table and then walked over to Nepeta, grabbing her wrist and pulling her away from the shiny wind chimes. "Let's get this over with."

The group got on the bus with little problems. Sollux sat next to the window, feeling slightly self-conscious about the way people were looking at him. He shifted slightly, touching where his horns would have been. He bit his lip gently, looking at the passing scenery. "Nn..." he hummed quietly to himself, his mind in deep thought.

Karkat slipped his hand around Sollux's. "Everything will be okay." Karkat whispered. He couldn't admit that he was petrified of going to human school. He knew there was a huge possibility that he would be made fun of but at least it wasn't for his blood color...

Sollux couldn't help but feel slightly panicky. He knew that everyone was... Mostly fair when it came to this. He had done research one night about humans in high school. Bullies were popular, and it was almost like a caste system... He thought he had gotten away from that entirely... But nerds like him were the lowest of the low. Maybe Karkat would make it higher and he could live in the realm of the noble cool kids with his hot boyfriend.

The bus stopped and Karkat watched as a bunch of stocky guys climbed on. There were many high fives and lots of chattering as the guys sat down. "Who are they?" Karkat asked.

"Dunno." Sollux admitted. "Jockth... I think." he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm going back to looking out the window." he almost whispered that last part, his tongue fumbling as he looked back out the window.

A girl mentioned to one of the guys that there were some more new kids and he looked back at them before making his way to the empty seat in front of Karkat and Sollux. "You're new." The guy said to Karkat.

"So?" Karkat glared at him, his fingers still entangled in Sollux's.

Sollux tried to avert his eyes. For once in his life he felt both ashamed of his eye color, his glasses, and his lisp. He kept his mouth shut tight, looking out the window, his hand gently tightening around Karkat's.

"What's your name?" The guys asked. He had sandy blonde hair and light blue eyes. "I'm Karkat and this is Sollux." Karkat nodded slightly toward Sollux.

"Those are some pretty interesting names..." Karkat glared at him.

"And what exactly is you're oh so normal name, fuckass?" Karkat spat.

"James." The man responded. "Where are you guys from anyway?" Sollux cleared his throat, gently digging his nails into Karkat's hand. "Is he deaf or something?" James said quietly, giving Sollux a slight glare.

"No. He doesn't like to talk." Karkat said. "We're from where we're from. That's all you need to know, James." Karkat looked at the guy, his eyes full of contempt. He didn't like this guy and he knew that Sollux didn't either by the way he was reacting.

James nodded a bit. "I see, I see." He shrugged his shoulders again, trying to think of something.

Sollux shifted a little, pushing his glasses up on his nose, sighing against the window, letting it fog up.

Karkat squeezed Sollux's hand before letting go to dig through his bag. Inside there was an mp3 player and headphones. Karkat shoved the buds into his ears and started to blare the music that was on the mp3 player. He was pretty sure that the device was Sollux's doing. He grabbed Sollux's hand again, having felt Sollux tense when he let go.

James turned around, making some sort of quiet comment about Sollux's glasses. The psionics in his body flared, but never left. Instead he sent a pulse through his hand to Karkat, his face contorted into a scowl.

Karkat squeezed Sollux's hand tighter. "I know." Karkat glared at the James Human. He leaned forward. "If you say anything about his glasses again, I will personally make your life a living hell." Karkat growled, his voice low and threatening. "Don't think I can't." He said before leaning back against the seat.

James laughed a little. "Like you really could take me." he said, shaking his head. "You're a skinny bitch. Besides, don't sit here and protect the creep. You'll get a bad rep from school." Sollux glared at him.

"Who careth?" he said. Suddenly James burst out laughing.

Karkat stood up and brought his fist down on the guy's face. "I told you to not mess with him you cunt." His voice deadly.

Sollux gasped. "Karkat!" he shouted, grabbing him and pulling back down in the seat, digging his nails into his arm. James spat blood and retaliated, someone grabbing him and pulling him back.

"This is not going to be like this, asshat!" he shouted, glaring at Karkat. "Consider yourself dead!"

"I'd like to see you try you fuckwad!" Karkat yelled back, struggling against Sollux's arms. He knew that Sollux was probably using his psionics to keep him down.

Sollux glared at him. "Karkat, thtop it." He could feel people staring. Oh how he wished he could kiss Karkat right here and stop this stupid rant of shit.

"Meet me after school. I'll teach you a lesson. You don't fuck with me." he spat, turning around in his seat.

Sollux sighed. "KK..."

Karkat sighed, leaning against Sollux. "This is going to be great." His voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sollux frowned. "You got yourthelf into thith." he patted Karkat's arm, frowning. "We're here." he pushed up his glasses, frowning. He grabbed his stuff before getting off of the bus, walking next to Terezi. "Need help getting to clath?" he asked, gently touching her arm.

"No. I know where they are." She said. "It must be nice having such a protective matesprit." She smiled at Sollux.

Karkat walked behind them, his hands in his pockets as he scowled at everyone around.

Sollux blushed. "I guethh." he said, shrugging. "KK ith jutht tho thour." he frowned, getting some weird looks from people around him. "Today ith going to thuck."

"First days usually do." Terezi said. "People are still trying to trip me..." She sighed.

Karkat started to feel like shit. Sollux knew that he only did it to protect him… Right? "I'm going to go find my locker. See ya." Karkat said before leaving the group. When he got to his locker, the jock found him.

"Let's settle this now." James said slamming Karkat's locker shut. Karkat turned to look at the stupid human jock.

"Fine. Let's get this shit over with." He sighed. James threw the first punch, determined to make Karkat pay for the service he had done earlier. Karkat dodged easily and ended up punching James a few more times and finally knocking him to the ground.

"Leave Sollux alone." Karkat spat before turning to leave. He hadn't noticed the crowd or the fact that Sollux was in the crowd that had been watching him. Everyone started to scatter when a teacher came close.

"You are going to the principle's young man." She yelled grabbing Karkat's arm. He sighed but followed. Best first day ever.

Sollux sighed, turning and walking away. "Idiot." he grumbled, going to his first class. He couldn't help but love Karkat for this... But somehow it hurt a little bit inside that Karkat had gotten in so much trouble for protecting him... At least someone cared.

Sollux's first class was a tech class. "Eathy." he said, sitting down as they started working on code. He finished in minutes where everyone else took the entire hour to finish.

Soon it was lunch time. Sollux sighed, walking into the lunch room, getting his lunch before going to find a place to sit. He found an empty table going and getting settled.

Karkat listened to the woman bitch at him before saying he was sorry and going to class. His first class of the day: Communication. How ironic... Dave would love this. He sat through class after being forced to introduce himself to the population. Finally the hell ended and he walked over to his locker, hoping to meet up with Sollux.

Sollux however was in the lunch room. He sighed, starting to eat by himself, shifting a bit uncomfortably in his chair.

"Hey Sollux." Terezi smiled. "I found you!"

Sollux blinked. "You did. How?" he asked, blinking his two toned eyes at her. "I gueth you thmelled me. Thath a bit dithcontherning."

Terezi nodded. "Karkat got in another fight didn't he?" She asked. "I heard about it because James is in my class. He got beat..."

"Yeah... He thould have lithened to KK." Sollux said, shoving food in his mouth.

"He was talking about seeing if Karkat wanted to go to a party this Friday. I don't understand human males..." Terezi said.

Karkat decided he was tired of waiting and went to the cafeteria. "Sol! Terezi!" He smiled as he walked over to their table.

Sollux looked over, feeling slightly relieved. "KK." he said softly, smiling a little. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Karkat tilted his head, sitting by Sollux.

"The fight, you dumbath." he said, putting more food in his mouth.

"You should know by now that I may be small but I can fight." Karkat glared at him. "Plus, I can let stupid humans upset my matesprit." He smiled softly.

"I'm not upthet." he said, giving Karkat a kind of angry glare. "I'm fine, and you know that."

"I know but he was upsetting you by laughing at your lisp. I felt that surge of psionics you sent into my hand, Sol." He said.

"I was trying not to thrangle him." he felt a wicked grin cross his features. "I knew I could have thrangled you, and you wouldn't have gotten mad."

"I love you." He laughed. Sollux made him laugh like no one else could. "You're right... I may have gotten turned on and then you would have been my kismesis." He grinned back.

Sollux snorted. "Dork." he hissed, slurping down his drink. "Time to go I gueth." he said quietly, shaking his head. "I don't wanna go to clathh... But I know I gotta."

"See ya. Before you go, let's go on a walk." Karkat smiled.

Sollux blinked. "Okay..." he got up, throwing his trash away before going and walking with Karkat. "Hmm?"

"Let's go to the bathroom. I want to talk for a sec. Just us." Karkat smiled up at him.

Sollux nodded, walking with him towards the bathroom. "Ith there thomething in particular?" he asked,

"Yes but we'll... Discuss that when we get there." Karkat smirked. He wasn't going to do anything sexual but he wanted a kiss and he was going to get one whether Sollux liked it or not.

Sollux nodded, walking into the empty bathroom. His voice echoed quietly. "What ith it?"

Karkat looked up at him and wrapped his arms around Sollux's waist. "I love you." He smiled before leaning up and stealing a quick kiss. "That's all."

Sollux smiled and kissed him back. "I love you too." he said. He was happy that it was one of the things he could say without lisping. He smiled and pulled Karkat into a tight hug.

Karkat let his head rest against Sollux's chest for a moment before he heard people coming towards the bathroom. He pulled away. "Go to class fuckwad." He smirked before leaving the bathroom.

Sollux sneered, washing his hands and then exiting himself. He loved Karkat so much. He completed him.

Karkat walked to class with a smile on his face. How did Sollux always manage to make him feel so much better about everything?

"Look it's another computer fucking geek!" A guy in the back of Sollux's class yelled. It was one of the guys that held James back on the bus.

Sollux rolled his eyes, frowning, sitting down in his seat, wrapping his arms around himself.

"Look! He's gonna cry!" Another shouted. Terezi came in a couple minutes later. "Sollux? You're in this class?" She asked.

Karkat sat in History, bored out of his mind. He knew nothing about human history and didn't want to know anything about it. He just wanted to get home and cuddle with Sollux.

Sollux nodded, looking over at Terezi. "Hey." he said softly.

Terezi spent the rest of class trying to not yell at the people that were making fun of Sollux and herself. She wrote on the corner of her paper so Sollux could see. "HUM4NS 4R3 STUP1D."

Sollux sighed. He wrote back "ii know." he bit his lip, looking down.

"4R3 YOU GO1NG TO T3LL K4RK4T?" She wrote. Looking at nothing in particular.

"no." he wrote back, sighing quietly as he took notes on the same sheet. "Terezii how are you readiing thii2?"

"SM3LLS." She replied simply. "4ND 1M JUST 4W3SOM3."

Sollux rolled his eyes. "whatever." he felt a paper ball hit him in the back of the head.

"There is another coming..." Terezi whispered.

Sollux dodged the next paper ball, whispering thanks to Terezi.

You could hear the curses coming from the back of the room as Sollux dodged the next 5 paper wads. The bell rang with ferocity at the end of the period.

Karkat jumped from his seat, shoving everything into his backpack and practically running to his locker. He wanted so badly to get out of that classroom.

Sollux sighed, going to his locker, which was near Karkat's. He sighed quietly, leaning against the cold metal. He felt slightly... Cold.

"What happened?" Karkat asked.

"Nothing." Sollux said quietly, looking at him with a fake smile. "I'm juthh... Tired." he sighed a little, digging in his locker for his stuff.

"That's bullshit. Someone said something to you." Karkat crossed his arms. "I'm not stupid Sol."

"No. Ith not." he said, crossing his arms. "Ith not."

"Fine." Karkat sighed. "I have to go to gym. I'll see ya later." He shoved his backpack into his locker and walked away. He knew, just knew, that Sollux was keeping this from him. Why didn't Sollux trust him? Was that even the problem? He didn't know but he was going to at least try to enjoy the physical activity that comes with gym class.

Sollux frowned. "Great." he mumbled, getting his things and going to his next class.

Karkat didn't talk to Sollux for the rest of the school day. He could tell by looking at him that he was getting picked on. Although he knew it probably wasn't as bad as he was making it in his head, he didn't like knowing that people were being mean to his matesprit. That was just unacceptable to him. Karkat waited for Nepeta to meet him at his locker.

"Here Karkitty. This is the info you wanted." She handed him a black pen drive.

Sollux sat outside, wrapped up in a jacket. He pulled the hood up. It had gotten a little bit cold. He sighed quietly, feeling bad. He felt on the brink of tears.

"Thanks. Now... What bus do we ride again?" He asked.

"057." She responded. Karkat nodded having seen Sollux sitting by the bus.

"Sol... I..." Karkat stammered. He didn't really know what to say. He just wanted to protect Sollux from the stupid humans but Sollux was keeping things from him...

"What?" he asked, looking up at him, frowning. He wanted to be held... To be cuddled.

"The bus is loading..." Karkat managed to say. He felt like he should say that he was sorry but something kept him from doing that. He was going to attack Sollux with cuddles when they got back to the apartment. 'Gog I've turned into such a sap.' he thought to himself as he climbed onto the bus.

Sollux sighed quietly, his mind racing. "Yeah..." he climbed on the bus and followed Karkat back. By the time Sollux made his way, there was no room for him to sit next to Karkat. Instead, he sat next to someone else, digging in his bag for his ipod.

Karkat looked around for a seat closer to Sollux. He sighed and stood up. "I'm sitting on you. Get over it." He sat down on Sollux's lap. Someone quickly claimed his old spot. "We need to talk when we get back." Karkat said before looking away to watch out the windows.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry if the last chapter confused any one... It was a mistake on my part. My computer hates me sometimes... It should be fixed now!**

* * *

><p>Sollux nodded, shifting slightly. He knew Karkat was mad at him. It was obvious. He rested his head against Karkat's shoulder, closing his eyes. He felt pained inside.<p>

Finally the bus stopped at their building. Karkat got off of Sollux's lap and walked down the aisle. He hadn't said a word the entire bus ride back and until they walked in the apartment. "Sol..." He dropped his backpack, turning around quickly and wrapped his arms around Sollux's waist. "Whatever I did... I'm sorry." He whispered, burying his face in Sollux's chest. "I love you..."

Sollux looked down at Karkat, his hands wrapping around Karkat's shoulders. "KK..." he whispered, feeling himself break. He choked out a sob, leaning over and resting his head against Karkat's shoulder.

"If it's about the fight... I won't fight again but I can't stand to see people pick on you." He tried to bury himself further into Sollux's chest. "I love your lisp. I think it's cute. But when he laughed at you... I wish I had my sickle still..." Karkat felt the sob bubbling in his chest. "I'm so sorry…. Please… Gog… Please don't hate me Sol…" He felt the tears start to stream down his cheeks as he gripped the back of Sollux's shirt.

Sollux tightened his grip around him. "I don't hate you." he whispered, kissing the top of Karkat's head. "I could never hate you." Gog, how could Sollux hate his matesprit? They had been together for a while... And they really cared. He sighed quietly, using his powers to carry them into the bedroom. "We thhould nap... I'm really tired."

Karkat didn't even realize they were moving as he nodded. When he noticed that they were in their room, he let himself fall onto the bed before pulling Sollux close to him. 'I have to find a way to control this stupid anger shit.' he told himself. That was Sollux's problem right?

The psiioniic curled close to Karkat, sniffling softly against Karkat. "I withh I wathn't tho... Thelf conthiouth."

"Why are you self-conscious? You're the most amazing being I've ever met." Karkat said into Sollux's chest. "You are the only thing that makes me happy."

"Becauthe." he whispered. "I look... Weird. Different." he sighed. "People don't like me for me... Theth humanth really aren't... Nithe."

"That's because they are stupid fucking nooksniffers who don't realize how awesome you are." Karkat tried to snuggle further into Sollux's chest. "I love your lisp and your eyes and you and everything about you. That's all you need to think about. Not those stupid fucking humans."

Sollux nodded. "Okay." he said quietly.

"Let's nap." Karkat yawned. He was exhausted.

Sollux nodded and fell asleep with ease. He awoke a few hours later, his glasses on the side table. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, yawning.

Karkat had left a note saying that Nepeta needed help with homework and that was where he was. He sat at her computer, looking through the images on the flash drive. He had watched 2 videos of what the humans called porn. "That looks almost painful." He said softly as he went through the comic. The "uke" seemed to be in pain at first but then started feeling good. But how long did that take?

Sollux sighed. "Okay." he read the note and then flopped back over. He was cold. Pulling the blanket over him, he thought about what he had due the next day.

Karkat had agreed to go to the party on Friday, just to attempt to get people to leave Sollux alone. As soon as he got there, he was handed a red cup and people kept giving him cups. After the first few drinks, he felt fuzzy and then warm but then his body grew hot. It didn't help that almost all the couples around him were making out, which made him think of Sollux and how much he wanted to be with Sollux in that moment so off he went to stumble home. He finally got up the stairs to the apartment. "Sol! Are you awake?" He slurred.

Sollux, who was seated as his computer, looked up, the glow illuminating his face. "Heh?" he asked, smelling the alcohol from his desk. "KK... Are you..."

"I feel all warm and stuffs." He laughed. "Sol, you know that I love you right?" Karkat said before he grabbed Sollux's shoulders and brought him into a kiss, his hands finally going from the shoulders to Sollux's hair. The heat in Karkat's body became fiery as he thought even more of things to do with Sollux besides kissing.

Sollux whimpered quietly, parting his lips, letting Karkat take control. He could taste the bitterness of the alcohol on his tongue. It somehow excited him. He kissed him back feverishly, his hands wandering to Karkat's hips.

"I know how..." Karkat pulled away just enough to say that before claiming Sollux's mouth with his again.

Sollux felt a wave of excitement run through him. He shifted out from behind his desk, keeping their lips intact as he felt Karkat push him up against the wall. Where was this going to lead?

Karkat felt himself growing hard. This was a slightly weird feeling but it was almost exactly like what happened the first time him and Sollux had had sex on Alternia. He moaned against Sollux's mouth as he pushed against him.

Sollux moaned quietly, nipping Karkat's bottom lip. "KK..." he whispered.

"Bedroom or here. I don't care." Karkat whispered as he slipped his fingers under the hem of Sollux's shirt.

Sollux made a soft noise. "Bedroom." he said quietly, moving from his spot into the bedroom. He closed the door after Karkat came in, his mind racing. Was he excited?

Karkat slipped his hands under Sollux's shirt, pushing it up. He was kinda of glad for the strange elixir that the people had given him. He finally had to confidence to let Sollux know what he knew. He pushed the shirt over Sollux's head, laying soft kisses on his shoulders and chest.

"KK.." he whispered, his body shaking slightly. "Wh-What are you... A-ahh..." he felt a blush creep up over his cheeks.

Karkat ran his tongue over Sollux's nipple, smirking as he did so. "Tutoring you in something I know." He grinned, running his hands over Sollux's chest. "Now, help me get my shirt off." He instructed.

Sollux felt the blush over his cheeks get hotter. "O-Okay..." he whispered, pulling at the shirt constricted to Karkat's chest.

"You're so adorable." Karkat smiled, putting his hand on the side of Sollux's face. He came closer, kissing Sollux's neck gently. "I love you Sol." He whispered into his ear before running his tongue up the side of it. He felt Sollux shiver. "Do you want to continue?"

Sollux nodded. "D-Don't thtop." he said, his face tainted red. "I... I don't underthtand, but... Jutht don't."

Karkat smirked again, nodding. He slid his hands down to Sollux's jeans. "Next, these need to come off." He claimed Sollux's mouth with his before he started to unzip the pants before sticking his hand inside.

Sollux whimpered, his eyes closing tight. "KK..." he whispered, biting his lip. "A-Ah-."

Karkat gently stroked one of Sollux's growing erections. "Feel good?" He asked. "One of these... Will..." He stopped talking deciding that he'll tell Sollux when they get to that part but first he needed to get Sollux hard.

Sollux whimpered, leaning against the bed gently. "KK..." he whispered, his hands tightening around the sheets in his hands.

"Take mine off." Karkat whispered. He didn't care of Sollux touched him because he was already hard and his being hard wasn't really needed for how he was going to have Sollux do this.

Sollux whimpered, reaching down and working on his pants, undoing them before sliding them down with his powers. "KK..."

Karkat kicked them off the rest of the way. "I'm going to guide you on what you do next." He said grabbing one of Sollux's hands with his free hand.

Sollux nodded, his eyes wide. He didn't know what it was that made him so excited.

Karkat retracted his hand from Sollux's pants. Without Sollux knowing, at least he hoped Sollux didn't, he had bought something called 'lube'. From the videos, he knew the purpose was to make things easier going in. He pulled the bottle from the drawer of his bed side table and put some on Sollux's fingers. He ran his fingers over the mess, covering 3 of Sollux's fingers. He then guided Sollux's hand between his legs, leading the hand to his 'nook'. That was the only thing he knew to call it. "Gently and one at a time." He pushed one of Sollux's fingers against it, a moan parting his lips as it slowly entered him. "Ah. Sol."

Sollux shifted his hand, gently moving his finger.

Karkat moaned again feeling the movement. He wrapped his arms around Sollux's neck. "Just like that..." He whimpered.

Sollux moved his finger, watching him carefully. "KK..." he whispered.

The moans became louder as Sollux moved his finger with a little more confidence. Karkat panted against his shoulder, wanting more. "Put another in..." He gasped.

Sollux nodded, inserting a second one, both his fingers moving gently inside him.

It hurt for a second but then the pleasure took over again. Karkat's body felt like it was on fire. He moaned, pushing gently against Sollux's fingers. "You can... Faster..." His mind blanking on words.

Sollux felt his cheeks turn vibrant red. "KK." he moved his fingers faster, watching his face carefully.

Karkat gasped and whimpered his head spinning with pleasure. "Sol... A-aaaaaaaahn." He moaned, leaning his head down on Sollux's shoulder. "This..." He moved his hand over one of Sollux's erections. "Replace... Please..." He wasn't sure if that was English let alone any language but he was certain that his matesprit would understand what he was wanting.

Sollux nodded, gently leaning Karkat back onto the bed, moving on top of him. He shifted so the bottom most one slid inside. He gasped quietly, leaning down against Karkat, moaning softly.

"Sol..." Karkat moaned. "I love you." He looked up at Sollux. There was no other person in the world that could make him feel like this.

Sollux moaned, moving like he had remembered before. "KK..." he whispered, moaning as he started to thrust inside of him. "F-Fuck..." he moaned softly, holding onto him.

Karkat lightly dug his nails into Sollux's shoulders. "N-ngh." Karkat moaned.

Sollux took initiative and leaned further into Karkat, slamming himself deep inside. "F-fuck..."

Karkat screamed with pleasure. "Harder!" He moaned as Sollux pushed deeper into him. Karkat arched his back into the thrusts.

"Okay." he delivered as he slammed into Karkat, using all the energy he had to thrust. He moaned, digging his nails into Karkat's shoulders.

Karkat gasped. "Gog... Sol!" He moaned, arching his back into Sollux's every move. This was the most amazing feeling in the world.

Sollux moaned loudly, feeling Karkat tighten around him. "K-KK!" he gasped out, biting his lip. "P-pleathe..."

Karkat brought one of his arms up, tangling his fingers in Sollux's hair before bringing his head down, connecting their mouths. He moaned against Sollux's mouth as his body came closer and closer to the edge.

Sollux moaned, pulling him in for a kiss, deepening the kiss with his tongue. "Nnngh... F-fu..." he stroked himself, looking at Karkat, stroking both of them at the same time.

Karkat moved his hand toward Sollux's, taking over stroking Sollux as he thrust. He started to trail kisses down Sollux's jaw before nipping his neck and sucking gently on the skin. He kinda wanted to leave a mark...

Sollux made a whimpering noise. "KK... Ow..." he winced, whimpering as he thrust deeper, angling.

Karkat licked the mark he just made. "Mine." He smirked before Sollux hit his sweet spot, stopping all thought that would have ever entered his mind in that second.

Sollux cried out, panting. "K-KK!" he gasped, whimpering. "G-Gah...!"

Karkat hadn't meant to drag his nails down Sollux's back but he couldn't help it with where Sollux was hitting. "Sol. Harder!" He screamed, thrusting his hips up with every movement of Sollux's.

Sollux cried out, screaming as he released. "F-Fuck" he screamed as he felt a shiver run down his spine.

Karkat couldn't help but releasing after feeling Sollux's. He whimpered into Sollux's shoulder, his whole body tingling with delight. This was better than anything that Karkat could have imagined. He whimpered as he felt Sollux slide out of him. "You, my matesprit, are the most amazing matesprit in the world." The alcohol had started to wear off so his speech wasn't as slurred.

Sollux grinned. "I'm glad." he replied, grinning as he flopped over on the bed. "Guh... Tho tired...

Karkat smiled at Sollux. "That was fun." he kissed Sollux's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around his thin waist.

Sollux smiled, curling up next to him, smiling. "Thank you."

"I'm so glad that tomorrow is Saturday." Karkat looked up at Sollux.

"Thame." He said, smiling. "Very glad."

"Sleep..." Karkat yawned curling into Sollux. "I love you."

Sollux nodded, pulling the covers over him. He slept easy that night.

A couples weeks passed and Karkat could tell that something was bothering Sollux and that it wasn't their relationship. He tried asking Terezi but she refused to tell him anything.

Sollux sat in his class, looking relatively exhausted. He hadn't slept the night before, or the night before that. He grumbled quietly struggling to stay awake and take notes.

Terezi looked in the general direction of Sollux. "Why are you here?" She asked

"Becauth." he said softly, looking over at her. "I have to be. It'th thcool."

"You need to sleep. Has Karkat not been taking care of you or something? I know he started boxing and all but still." She said.

"He thtarted boxing?" Sollux asked. He hadn't heard anything about this. "I juth had... Loth of thtuff to do for thcool ith all."

"Yeah. He started a couple days ago." Terezi tilted her head. "I was there when he told you... You said it was cool and that you would be okay with him getting back to the apartment after you..."

"Ah... Yeah..." he remembered now. He had been experiencing a split of personality at that moment, causing him a bit of confusion. "Thath right. I remember now." he could hear kids in the back of the class giggling about the sound of his voice.

"I'm going to ask that hot Karkat guy if he wants to go to the dance with me next week." One girl in the back of the class said. "Don't even bother. Don't you know that he's queer for freaklux up there. Seriously, it's like they are constantly up each other's asses." Another replied. "They are always touching each other too." "I wouldn't mind Karkat touching all over me." The first girl giggled.

Sollux felt his powers surge, causing one of the light bulbs in the classroom to flicker out. He grumbled quietly to himself, trying to ignore the voices in the back of the class room.

"I think he would be an idiot to choose that geek over someone as pretty as you, Katie." "Still, it's getting his attention away from Solfreak. Maybe if I get him during the class break?" The girls started to hatch a plan to get Karkat by himself. "Don't listen to them. You know for a fact that Karkat doesn't even notice them." Terezi whispered.

Sollux ground his teeth together. "Nnnnnghhh..." he growled, crumpling a piece of paper.

"Looks like Solfreak is getting jealous. You wouldn't stand a chance with Karkat." The girl, Katie said. "Wait, Solfreak is gay? For Karkat?" One of the guys started to laugh. "That's the most disgusting thing I have ever heard in my life!" Everyone started to laugh, besides Terezi. That's when the spitballs and paper wads started again.

As soon as the first paper ball hit him in the head, something in him snapped. He tried to suppress it. He felt something cold and wet press against the top of his neck at the base of his head. He turned around and saw a girl holding part of a piece of gum.

That was it. He stood up, glaring before shouting. "Thath IT!"

Terezi could hear the small sounds of the energy crackling. "Oh look. Solfreak has got a temper!" One of the kids in the back yelled. Terezi pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Karkat. "COM3 NOW SOLLUX SN4PP3D."

Karkat felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, carefully pulling it out. He read the message, his expression growing dark as he stood. "I need to go to the bathroom!" He said, interrupting the teacher's lecture. "Fine, Mr. Vantas."

Sollux growled. "I'M TIRED OF PEOPLE THROWING SHIT AT ME!" He used his powers, glaring as he touched his desk, making it flip over before he stormed out of the room, knocking a few other things over as he exited his power raging from his eyes.

"Sol. What happened? You're powers..." Karkat walked toward Sollux. "Come with me." He gently grabbed Sollux's wrist, pulling him toward the bathroom.

Sollux grumbled, trying to jerk his hand away from Karkat's. He couldn't pull back or he would end up hurting himself. He thrashed about instead.

"What happened? Why are your powers flaring?" Karkat asked. He knew that Sollux had been keeping the bullying a secret from him. "Talk to me. Please."

Sollux clenched his fists looking at Karkat. He took his glasses off, using his powers to pick up one of the garbage cans, slamming it into the wall. "Those fucktardth won't leave me alone!" he shouted, looking at Karkat before his emotions changed. He shivered, looking down. "Fuck..." he muttered as he started crying.

"Sol. What did they do? Is... Is that gum in your hair?" Karkat moved closer to him. "Let's go to the bathroom so I can get it out."

He sniffed, whimpering quietly as he followed along beside Karkat. "Yeth..." he mumbled.

Karkat grabbed his hand as they walked to the bathroom. "Sol... Why didn't you tell me this was happening?" He felt guilty because he hadn't made Sollux tell him.

"Becauth I didn't want you getting into more fightth." he said, looking at him. "They won't leave me alone... They all theem to want your dick."

"You are the only one that will ever, EVER, have that." Karkat sighed. "Why can't you depend on me a little? Am I not dependable or something?" He mumbled under his breath as he worked the gum from Sollux's hair.

"You are... B-but... I jutht... I know your temper." he said, looking down so he could get to the gum spot better.

"That's why I started boxing... To control that..." Karkat said. "It's almost completely out now." He rubbed the back of Sollux's head. "I love you and only you and I want to protect you because... Well... I know you would do the same for me..." Karkat looked at the ground. "Can you please just let me handle this?"

Sollux sighed. "I'm tired of being the weakling." he said quietly, turning and touching Karkat's face.

"You're stronger than I am. That's why I like having you top." Karkat grinned, rubbing his hands up and down Sollux's chest. "You know how to make my body all hot. You're the only one who could ever make me beg for more." He leaned up, running his tongue up the side of Sollux's neck. "You're the only one who will ever be able to make me scream."

Sollux shivered. "KK, thop that..." he whispered. "You know what I mean..."

Karkat smirked. "This is the only time that I have ever had the chance to actually be able to protect you so please, Sol, let me." Karkat whispered, cupping Sollux's cheek with his hand. He stood on his tiptoes, kissing Sollux gently. "I love you and I want to protect you…. Depend on me a little. Please."

Sollux nodded. "I'm thorry." he said quietly, kissing Karkat back gently. "I'm... I'm thorry..." he felt hot tears drip down his face. He leaned against the wall, slumping.

Karkat leaned against him gently, just holding his love for he had lost all words. Karkat knew how he was going to control the situation and it involved a certain human named James.

Sollux sighed, finally having relieved his emotions. He looked at Karkat. "I thuppothe I'm in huge trouble."

Karkat nodded. "I'll go to the office with you." He looked up at Sollux, kissing him gently before grabbing his hand and leading him to the office.

Sollux nodded. He followed behind Karat, getting strange glares. He walked into the office, sitting down, waiting for his name to be called.

"Mr. Vantas, why are you up here?" The secretary asked. "Emotional support." He squeezed Sollux's hand a little. "Well, Mr. Captor. The principle is ready to see you."

Sollux felt a shiver run down his spine as he walked into the office, keeping his head low. He hated getting in trouble at school...and it was all the fault went to his stupid bipolar issues.

"Mr. Captor, I presume." Karkat stood there beside him. "I have been informed that you had an... Outburst earlier in class."

"Y-Yeth." he replied quietly, wringing his hands in his lap. "I... I..." he bit his lip. "I have a bit of a bullying problem." he said, "People bully me in clath."

The principle looked up at the teacher standing beside her. "Is he bullied in class?" The woman nodded. "Why didn't you stop it?"

"I thought it was only the once. I didn't see anything after Terezi Pyrope went off on them. At least not until today." She murmured. The principle nodded.

"Since this incident was caused by your lack of emotional control and the actions of others. I am giving you a week suspension so you can calm down. I want you to write me a list of everyone who has been bullying you and I will handle their punishment. Not you and certainly not you Mr. Vantas." Karkat nodded.

Sollux nodded, biting his lip. "I... I don't know any of their nameth." he said softly. He frowned. That would be a problem.

"I bet Terezi does. She knows everything." Karkat said.

Sollux nodded. "Yeah..." he said, biting his lip gently. "Thorry for being thuch... A problem thtudent." he said, shifting in his seat as he began to stand.

"One more thing, Mr. Captor. If this continues, please inform a teacher or myself." She smiled lightly at the pair as they left.

"How are you a problem student? This is the first time you've gotten in trouble since elementary school!"

Sollux sighed. "I know I know." he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Ith..." he looked down. "I'm jutht..." he shook his head. "Maybe I need help."

"Like mental help? Sol. There's nothing wrong with you." He stopped in the middle of the hall, not caring about the looks and whispers. "You're not crazy." Karkat cupped Sollux's face with his hands. "So stop thinking you are. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you."

"Then why do I have thuch ranged emotionth?" he gently pushed Karkat away, feeling the stares bore into his spine.

"Because that's just how you are. Why am I such a prick? It's just the way I am." Karkat looked at him before turning to the tap on his shoulder. "What?"

"Um, hi." she said, scratching the back of her head. She really had some nerve coming up to ask him out in front of the freak. "So, Karkat, there's this dance next week. Wondering if you wanted to go with me."

"No." He turned back around. "I'll see ya later Sol." Karkat smiled at him before turning and going to his next class.

Sollux sighed and shook his head.

"Well... That was..." She didn't know how to react. "He seems pissed about something... I guess I just asked at the wrong time..."

Sollux shrugged. "KK... Ith... Difficult." he smirked, feeling dickish.

"Is he usually like that?" She asked.

Sollux shrugged. "Yeah." he said, cracking a smile. "I gueth he ith." he smiled. "I gueth I've gotten tho uthed to it, it doethn't bother me."

"You two are really close huh." She looked at Sollux. "He only smiles when you're around..."

"I could tell you why, but I'm thure he'd kill me." Sollux said, his face grinning.

She smiled. "I think I know... I'm sorry about earlier..." She looked at the ground. "I didn't know that Sarah was going to put gum in your hair..."

Sollux shrugged a little bit. "Ith fine." he said, sighing quietly. He leaned up against the wall. "KK got it out mothtly." He silently cursed himself over this stupid lisp of his.

"Well... There is the warning bell." She walked away. She felt bad that that had happened to Sollux... Especially since he seemed to be a good guy.

Sollux nodded, heading out to his last class. He sat down and took his notes as much as he could before the bell rang. He couldn't concentrate.

Finally the school day ended. Karkat sighed as he got his stuff from his locker. A paper fell out of the mess. A permission slip to go on a field trip to the science museum, whatever that was. "Hey Sol. I won't be able to walk you to the bus... I have to go talk to my Bio teacher real quick. I'll see you when I get home from boxing, okay?"

Sollux nodded. "I'll get dinner ready... Or... Try..." he frowned and gave him a quick hug before heading out to the bus, digging around for his headphones as he got on the bus, sitting in the back by himself. He plugged his headphones in.

Karkat walked back to the Biology lab room. "A-aaah. James..." Karkat peered silently into the room. What he saw confused, traumatized and excited him but not in a sexual way. He could use this to his advantage. "Looks like I have my way of getting what I want." Karkat snickered as he walked back toward the bus stop. He went through practice with ease. When he finally got back to the apartment, he was exhausted.

Sollux had fallen asleep on the couch with the TV on. He had a blanket pulled over part of his shirtless chest. He rolled over when the door opened. "Nnn?"

"Honey... I'm home." Karkat laughed. "Have you eaten? I bought Chinese."

Sollux shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "Nnn... No..." he whispered, clearing his throat. "I fell athleep ath thoon ath I got home."

"Well... You get to sleep all day tomorrow too so remember to eat at least once before I get home." he kissed Sollux's forehead.

Sollux nodded, sighing quietly. "Yeah" he rubbed his eyes. "I'll try."

"I'll call you when I have lunch. There will be something in the fridge when you wake up." Karkat ran his hand through Sollux's hair. "Why do you look so happy all of the sudden, fuckass?"

"Becauth you're here." he said, sitting up. "And I love you." he felt like a sap, but it was true. He had been having a lovely cute dream about him.

"Sappy dickhead." Although he said that, Karkat didn't even try to hide the blush on his face. "Let's eat."

Sollux nodded, shoving his glasses on his face before getting up and going into the kitchen, sitting down at the table.

"I'm not making your plate for you." Karkat said as he scooped some rice and chicken stuff on his plate.

Sollux grumbled. "Hell yeth you are." he said, scratching his messy hair.

"No." Karkat smirked sitting at the opposite end of the table, just out of Sollux's reach.

Sollux grumbled, using his psionics to pick up Karkat's plate, pulling it over to him instead.

"DICK! GIVE IT BACK!" Karkat yelled following the plate over to Sollux. "It's mine!"

Sollux grinned, using his powers to push the plate back across the table. "Heh."

Karkat fought the urge to smack Sollux upside the back of his head. "You're lucky I love you." He turned toward the counter and scooped some food onto a clean plate before taking it and sitting it in front of Sollux.

Sollux grinned. "Yay." he said as he put the plate back in front of Karkat. "Love you too."

"Dick... I'm not your fucking housewife." Karkat mumbled as he ate. It was a love-hate relationship that he had with Sollux's powers.

Sollux stuck his tongue out after he shoved food in his mouth. "You love me though." he said, smiling.

"Already established that." Karkat said before shoving more food into his mouth. He couldn't stop thinking about how cute Sollux was being in that moment.

Sollux smiled a little, getting up after he finished eating. He threw the paper plate away, sighing as he sat at his desk, clicking the computer on.

"I'm going to go shower and then I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted." Karkat ruffled Sollux's hair.

Sollux nodded. "I'll be here when you get back." he said, getting online to look for some stuff.

"Hey. There is a paper that I need printed for tomorrow. It's on the black pen drive in the front of my backpack. Can you do that for me?" Karkat asked, pulling his shirt off as he made his way to the bathroom.

Sollux nodded. "Yup." he said, getting up as he dug around in Karkat's backpack. He found the flashdrive with his signea on it but he then found... Nepeta's. He frowned, taking Nepeta's and popping it into the computer. "Hmmm..." he found a bunch of files addressed to Karkat and a bunch of pictures of cats. He then grabbed Karkat's flashdrive and printed the paper.

Karkat took his time showering, letting the warm water run over his aching muscles. This next week was going to be interesting with Sollux not going to school.

Sollux copied all the files addressed to Karkat to his computer, leaving the flashdrive unscathed as he put both back in the backpack. He then walked to the bathroom, knocking on the door before opening it just slightly. "Paper ith on the printer." he said, "Why do you have Nepeta's flath drive?"


	9. Chapter 9

'Fuck...' Karkat screamed in his head. "She asked me to hold on to it. She's got something on there that she doesn't want Feferi or Equius to see." He said. Hopefully this sounded believable.

"Ahh." he grinned a little bit, not letting it show in his voice. "Okay. If you thay tho."

Karkat waited until he heard the patter of Sollux's typing resume before breathing a sigh of relief. He had successfully lied to his matesprit... Wait... He was lying to Sollux. He felt a knot form in his stomach. "This sucks..."

Sollux dug through the files, keeping an eye on the bathroom door. He felt a twinge of pain in his chest. Karkat was lying to him. Why? What was all of this?

Karkat tried to not think about the current situation by figuring out what he was going to say to James to get the kids in school to leave Sollux alone.

"Hmm..." he hummed quietly, sitting back as he looked through the pictures, not really... Getting anything from them. He knew what this was. He knew how it worked now at least. Karkat seemed so secretive over all of this. Sollux grinned, shaking his head as he got up, locking his computer before going into the bedroom and changing into pjs.

Karkat decided that he needed to just stop thinking in general as he turned the water off. He wrapped the towel around his waist before going into the bedroom. He had stopped caring about Sollux watching him change so when he got to his dresser he got a pair of boxers and his pajamas out. He let the towel drop as he pulled his clothes on.

Sollux curled up in bed, looking at him. "Nice ath KK." he said, laughing a little as he pulled the covers over him.

"Shut up." Karkat said as he climbed on to the bed, sliding under the covers to cuddle with Sollux. "Go to thleep Thollukth."

"Dick." he grumbled curling up next to his lover. "You're tho mean to me." he mumbled, "But I love you."

"That's the first time I've made fun of your lisp in a while!" Karkat grumbled. "Besides you know I think it's cute." He kissed the tip of Sollux's nose. "Seriously though, go to sleep."

Sollux nodded. "I know. You're cute too." he said, gently curling up with him as he fell asleep.

Karkat heard the alarm go off, turning it off quickly before it woke Sollux. He gently pulled Sollux's arms from around his waist as he sat up. He ran his fingers through Sollux's hair before kissing his cheek and getting up to make food. Karkat cooked himself something small for breakfast, taking most of the time to make a good dinner/lunch for Sollux. He sighed as he put the food into the Tupperware containers thinking about how much he acted like a housewife... "Oh well... It seems to make Sol happy..." he smiled softly. He went back to the room to change clothes for school.

Sollux grumbled a little, rolling over into the warm spot left by Karkat's body. "Nnn..." he grumbled quietly.

Karkat smiled, walking over to the bed after he had finished changing. "I love you Sol. Sweet dreams." He kissed Sollux's cheek before heading out to the living room to get his shoes, bag and jacket.

School was fairly boring. Tavros was finally back. Gamzee was in all of his classes which made things so much better. He almost missed his horns. He felt naked without them. His hair had grown out some, making the hair droop down part of his face instead.

It was lunch time and Gamzee had grabbed two trays, one for him and one for Tavros. "Here's your food, Tav." He smiled. "Hey look! Karkat!"

Karkat heard Gamzee say his name. "Hey fuckers. How's your first day?"

Tavros shrugged. "Okay I guess." he said quietly. He wheeled up to the table. "Still adjusting. I've been uh... Out of the hospital for a week and it's still hard getting used to this."

"When are the new legs coming in?" Karkat asked. "That didn't make any sense but you know what I mean."

Gamzee sat down by Tavros. "Where is Sol?"

"He... He had an episode yesterday and they suspended him... He won't be here again until next week." Karkat sighed. "Speaking of that little fuck. I need to go call him to make sure he eats." Karkat got up, waving to the pair before leaving.

"Next month." he grumbled. "Had to get them ordered and made and stuff." he frowned. Tavros waved and smiled as he watched him leave. "I'm so happy he has someone."

* * *

><p>Sollux sat at his computer watching the files that had been addressed to Karkat. It was so funny having to hack them. It took almost no time at all.<p>

Karkat walked into the bathroom, pulling his phone out and dialing Sollux.

Sollux made a face as the videos started. "Ew..." he grumbled, pausing them to pick up his phone. "KK why are you calling me from thcool?"

"Don't forget to eat. There is food in the blue Tupperware containers in the fridge. Microwave them for 5 minutes before eating them." Karkat said. "I told you I would call..."

Sollux grumbled. "Do I have to?" he said, shaking his head. "I will in a minute. I'm buthy."

"Sollux. If I don't hear the microwave turn on in the next few seconds, I'm coming home and shoving the food down your protein shoot." Karkat grumbled.

Sollux grumbled. "Fine." he got up, grabbing the food from the fridge and shoving it in the microwave. "How long?" he asked again, clicking his tongue.

* * *

><p>"Me too. He seems a lot less crabby when he thinks of Sollux." Gamzee said. "But I have to say<p>

that I'm luckier than he is and that's all because I have you, Tavbro." Gamzee smiled at him.

"Awww, Gamzee, you're so sweet." he said, smiling.

Gamzee smiled. "Can I have a kiss?"

Tavros nodded, looking around to make sure no one was watching before he leaned over and gently gave him a kiss on the cheek, his face turning pink.

"Thanks." Gamzee smiled. "You're so cute."

* * *

><p>"5 minutes." Karkat smirked. "You know I only do this because I love you."<p>

"I know, I know." he grumbled, making a scowl as he turned on the microwave. "Thith ith tho boring here at home without you. Therth nothing on TV, no one online... Guhhhh..."

"Well... Watch a movie or something. We have tons of movies plus you know you can hack that Netflit thing." Karkat sighed. "I need to go eat something but I'll text you later. Okay?"

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he said, rubbing his arms. "I'll find thomething."

"I love you." Karkat smiled as he said it.

"I love you too." he said, frowning. "I hope you know I can't eat all of thith."

"That was the point. You better put a nice sized dent in it. Talk to you later, fuckwad." Karkat smiled as he hung up.

Sollux rolled his eyes, letting it finish cooking before he took it out of the microwave, digging in. Whatever it was, it tasted good.

Karkat rejoined Tavros and Gamzee at the table after getting himself some food. They spent the time talking about various things before they had to part ways. Later, Karkat walked into the gym, heading toward the locker room. He saw James changing in the corner. "Hey, I need to talk to you."

James blinked, pulling on his shirt. "What's up?" he asked, blinking.

"I want you to get your friends to leave Sollux alone." Karkat said bluntly. "He doesn't want me fighting any more so I can't do much more than ask you to help without him getting mad at me." James blinked.

"Why should I help you?" Karkat smirked.

"If you don't I'll tell everyone about what you were doing yesterday with the male Biology teacher."

The boy gasped, his face turning red. "Y-You have no proof!"

"I do and you won't get it until the end of the school year. Get them to leave him alone. Think you can do that?"

James stuttered over his words and nodded fiercely.

"Good boy." Karkat smirked as he turned to go change into his gym clothes. He didn't care what he had to do to protect Sollux and if that meant blackmailing a human then he was perfectly okay with that.


	10. Chapter 10

Meanwhile, Tavros sighed, not able to do a single thing in gym. Why was he even in that class? He got some weird looks. Why was the leg-less kid in a gym class? Instead he watched Gamzee run around with a ball.

Karkat chased Gamzee. "This isn't how you play!" Karkat stopped running "Tav! Control him!"

Gamzee laughed as he paused to catch his breath. "Hi Tav!"

Tavros laughed, smiling widely. "Aw." he said, wheeling forward a little. "You guys are funny. Too bad I can't play at all." he said, tapping his chin.

Gamzee went from looking happy to sad in an instant. "I'm sorry Tav. I can sit with you if you want."

Karkat rolled his eyes. "He'll be able to play soon." Karkat muttered, stealing the ball back from Gamzee.

Tavros frowned. "I'll be fine. Go play." he pushed himself back up against the wall, watching. He knew he wouldn't be able to for a while. His legs would be a little troublesome for him to work with... But maybe one day he could play with them.

Gamzee watched Tavros' face for a moment before walking back onto the floor with Karkat. He knew that Tavros was upset by the fact that he couldn't play and Gamzee felt horrible about it.

* * *

><p>As he walked to his locker, he pulled his phone out. Karkat smiled, seeing the 15 texts that Sollux had sent him.<p>

Sollux had sent him texts talking about how he accidentally had exploded something in the microwave, about how bored he was at home, and how there was literally nothing to do but to scroll through the lists of shit there were on Netflix.

"I'M GLAD TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE DOING OKAY." Karkat texted back, smiling like a school girl.

Sollux replied back as soon as he could. "thii2 ii2 2tupiid." he then wrote on about how hard it was to get crusted cheese off the inside of the microwave.

"I'LL CLEAN IT WHEN I GET HOME. LEAVE IT ALOVE OR YOU'LL BREAK IT." He replied, trying not to laugh in the middle of class.

"iim not gonna break iit, dumba22." he wrote back, holding a sponge in his hand. "thii2 fuckiing 2uck2."

"YEAH YEAH, JUST LEAVE IT ALONE." Karkat sent back. "3"

Sollux looked down at his phone, finding not a text from Karkat, but one from...

"Ugh. What the fuck do you want, Eridan..." he grumbled, texting the annoying fish breath boy back.

"wwhy aren't you at school Sol?" Eridan typed back.

"ii got 2u2pended for 2hiit. why are you textiing me?" Sollux wrote back, glaring at his phone screen.

"Fef wwas wworried about you. Her phone is dead." Eridan typed back.

Karkat was starting to kinda worry... Sollux hadn't texted him in 15 minutes.

"why doe2 fef care?" Sollux replied back, opening the text from Karkat. "yeah, yeah ii wiill."

"I don't knoww. She just asked me to text you!" Eridan replied. Feferi didn't even know that he was texting Sollux, let alone that Sollux wasn't at school.

"GOOD." Karkat typed back. "CLASS IS ABOUT TO LET OUT. I'LL BE HOME AROUND 5:30."

Sollux texted Karkat a single "K 3" and let it go. "well erii, iidk why 2he'2 even textiing me."

Eridan read the message from Sol. "Fuck." He whispered to himself as he slipped the phone back in his pocket.

Sollux grumbled. The nerve of that boy. He scowled and went back over to the computer.

Karkat walked over to the gym that Equius works at. He walked in, dropping his bag by his locker and changing into some comfier clothes before going out into the main workout room and wrapping his hands.

Sollux dug around on the internet, having stricken a wonderful plan. Eridan had stopped bugging him for now, and he knew Karkat was at boxing, so he left him alone. He frowned, pouting. He was bored.

* * *

><p>After class, he walked with Tav to their locker. "Why don't we go to the store later? I want to know if humans have Faygo!" He smiled down at Tavros.<p>

Tavros nodded. "I like that idea." he said, smiling.

"Yeah! Let's go on a mother fucking adventure!"

Tavros nodded. "Not ..with you on the back of my chair again." he bit his lip. "That was dangerous."

"Fine... But that was fun!" Gamzee smiled.

Tavros smiled. "We'll go after class okay?" he said, reaching out his hand for Gamzee's. "Okay?"

"Okay!" Gamzee's smile widened.

Tavros smiled, wheeling himself to his next class.

"I wonder how many flavors of Faygo they have here?" Gamzee said, his hand on Tavros' chair.'

"I dunno." he said, wheeling down the hall, turning the corner. He still hadn't gotten quite enough upper body strength to push himself. "A-A little help?"

Gamzee nodded and pushed on the wheelchair a little, helping Tavros.

Tavros sighed quietly, and leaned back, letting his hair touch Gamzee's arm.

Gamzee put his hand on Tavros' shoulder, rubbing it gently.

Gamzee wheeled Tavros around the store, finally finding what they had come for. Blessed Mirthful Messiahs. There was an entire section of Faygo down this aisle.

Tavros grinned. "Yay!" he said, smiling as he picked out a few flavors. "Mmmm~"

Visions of sopor slime in pans started to run through Gamzee's mind. He put his hand to his head. He started to feel sick. "Tav..."

Tavros frowned, reaching over to him. "Gamzee...? You okay?" he asked.

"My head hurts... Memories..." He whispered, knowing Tavros would understand.

Tavros bit his lip. "Are... Are you gonna be okay?" he asked.

Gamzee nodded, grabbing Tavros' hand. "Just don't go anywhere..."

Tavros nodded. "I won't and I'll be here for you if you uh... Fall." he said, frowning.

Gamzee sat down in the middle of the aisle, resting his head on Tavros' lap. "Thanks Tavbro."

Or what was left of it, Tavros looked down, gently touching Gamzee's hair. "Nnn..." he hummed, frowning.

"Gamzee?" Tavros asked. "You gonna uh... Be okay?"

Gamzee's headache finally went away. He stood slowly, nodding. "I'm fine. Just a small relapse." He smiled. "Let's go pay for our Faygo!"

Tavros nodded, holding all the Faygo in his lap.

* * *

><p>"Hello Sollux! Meow has your day been?" Nepeta sent the message to Sollux figuring he was bored.<p>

Sollux replied back. "boriing a2 2hiit."

"Well then why don't you go internet shopurring? It might be fun :33" Nepeta typed back.

"you know, KK ha2 your fla2h driive."

Uh... How was Nepeta supposed to answer? "I know." Was all she could say.

"why?" Sollux replied before adding. "there was liike...ton2 of porn on iit."

"I can't tell you... He'll be mad at me... *AC makes sad face*"

Sollux growled. "oh come on." he typed back.

"He thought it would make you happy if he knew what he was doing so he asked me to find stuff about it... He came over and watched everything on my computer so you wouldn't hack him and find out what he was doing... *AC gasps* It's your fault if he gets mad!"

Sollux laughed. "that2 KK for you. alway2 keepiing 2ecret2 from me."

"He didn't want you to think that he is a purrvert." She replied.

Sollux laughed even harder. "hahahahaha, that2 funny. KK ii2 2o weiird. ii thiink maybe ii 2hould do 2omethiing for him."

"Like what? I want to help!" She shifted, laying on her beanbag chair.

Sollux divulged his plans of mass creepiness on Karkat. "How doe2 that 2ound?"

"OMG! IT'S PURRFECT!" You could hear Nepeta's squeals throughout the entire apartment building.

Karkat unwrapped his hands, wincing slightly at the new cuts on them. He decided that he didn't feel like cooking again. "Pizza sounds good." he said pulling his wallet from his backpack, sitting on the bench. $50 was more than enough to get a large pizza and a two liter. He dialed the pizza place. "Can I get a large meatlovers, an order of breadsticks and a two liter of mountain dew? Pick up."

Sollux turned off his computer, going back over to the microwave trying to get it to be clean again. He didn't want Karkat to come home to a huge mess. He grumbled.

Karkat walked in, carrying the boxes and the two liter. "Sol! I got pizza!" He yelled as he sat the boxes on the kitchen island. "Sol?"

Sollux peered from around the corner of the bedroom. "KK, don't be mad." he said softly.

"About what?" Karkat asked, looking toward the bedroom door. "What happened?" He started to walk back toward the room.

He frowned, holding the broken dish from the microwave in his hands. "I broke it on athhident." he frowned, biting his lip. "I'm thorry... You told me not to and I did..."

"Dumbass you're bleeding!" Karkat went into the bathroom, grabbing the small first aid kit. "Sit down." He grumbled. "I don't care about the microwave. That can be replaced but you... You can't..." He cleaned the cut on Sollux's hand. "You're such a dumbass." He pulled Sollux close to him. He had almost thought that some human girl, or worse, a human guy, was going to come out of their room.

Sollux sighed, leaning against him. "KK..." he whispered quietly, wrapping his now bandaged hand and arm around him. "I'm thorry I'm tho thtupid." he frowned. "But I'm glad you're home. I'm hungry."

Together, they walked into the kitchen. "Want to watch a movie?" Karkat asked as he made the plates.

"Thure." he said, settling down in a chair. "Thank you."

Karkat smiled as he handed Sollux the plate. "Can you hold this? I want to get comfy." Karkat asked after putting the DVD in the player. He kinda hoped that Sollux would use his powers to hold his plate so Karkat could cuddle with him while they ate.

Sollux blinked, nuzzling him, using his powers to lift the plate. "Come here." he said, pulling Karkat close.

Karkat smiled snuggling into Sollux. He was happy. "I'm comfy now. How about you?" He asked looking up at Sollux.

Sollux nodded. "Ath comfy ath I'll get." he replied, resting his head on top of Karkat's. "Ith thith a thitty romcom?"

"Well... You let me pick the movie... And they're not shitty! Their romantic! Kinda like what I wish you could be sometimes..." He smirked.

"Pfthhhhp." he laughed, shaking his head. "Trutht me." he said, grinning. "I'm thoooo romantic."

"Prove it." Karkat grinned at him. "Now shut up. My movie is starting." He snuggled back into Sollux watching intently as the intro played.

Sollux laughed a little, taking bits of pizza before shoving them into his mouth. He hated these movies, but he would put up with them for KK.

By the end of the movie, there were soft tears streaming down Karkat's cheeks. "That was so beautiful..." He sniffled before the soft snoring caught his attention. "Sol?" He shifted so he could see Sollux's face.

Sollux was lying with his head back against the couch, his mouth open slightly.

Karkat pulled his phone from his pocket, carefully taking a picture of the sleeping adorableness. "You're so cute." He smiled before setting the alarm on his phone and cuddling back into Sollux, pulling the blanket further around himself.

Somewhere in the night Sollux had shifted, frightening himself awake. "G-gWAUH" he screamed out, awaking from a nightmare.

Karkat jumped. "What?" Karkat turned to look at him. "Sol, what happened?"

Sollux shivered. He reached out, grabbing hold of Karkat, pulling him close. He buried his head in Karkat's chest, his whole body covered in shivers.

"What happened? What did you dream about?" Karkat asked, his fingers playing with Sollux's hair.

Sollux mumbled something into his chest, but you couldn't hear it. He clung to him tightly.

"Sol. Talk to me. What happened in the dream?" Karkat pushed away a little but not enough for Sollux to freak out.

Sollux looked up at him. "Don't you dare die on me." he said, his voice soft but stern.


	11. Chapter 11

"Die? Sol..." Karkat pulled him close. "How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me." Karkat whispered. He didn't care that it was 4am and that he had to wake up in 3 hours. He sat there, whispering sweet, loving words into Sollux's ear until he fell asleep again. By that time it was 6:30.

Sollux laid against the couch, his body shivering as he felt Karkat put the blanket over him. "KK..." he whispered just before he fell back asleep. "I withh you didn't have to go tomorrow..." he whispered, rubbing his eyes as he closed them, falling back asleep completely.

Karkat kissed Sollux's forehead before getting up and going to shower so he could get ready for school. While he was in the shower, he decided that he could miss boxing one night to spend it with his matesprit. He finished showering and when his phone went off, he started his normal morning routine of making something small for him to eat before making food for Sollux. He finished early so he decided to write a little note to Sollux. "Hey Sol. Just want you to know that I love you and hope you have a good day. Don't forget to eat. I'll be calling around noon to remind you again. I'll try to hurry home after practice. I took out some steak for dinner. DON'T TOUCH IT! Well... I got to go now. 3 Karkat"

Sollux smiled when he woke, finding the note. He felt warm and comfy on the couch.

During the day he worked on being on the computer, coming up with his master plan.

The day seemed to go slow for Karkat. Minutes felt like hours and his classes went on for years. He wanted to get home and cuddle with Sollux. He was kind of excited about the possibility of a romantic evening with his lover. He smiled as he thought about Sollux doing some of the things he had seen in his movies.

* * *

><p>"Have you bought it yet?" Nepeta texted Sollux.<p>

"ii have." he wrote back, "KK ii2 goiing to hate me."

"Why? I bet he'll love it :33"

"ii'm 2ure he wiill too." he typed.

* * *

><p>Karkat felt his heartbeat skyrocket when the final bell rang. He was going to surprise Sollux by coming home 2 hours early! He tried to not giggle like a school girl in love but he couldn't wipe the grin from his face as he made his way to the bus.<p>

Sollux grunted, sitting behind his computer. Why did humans have such a wide range of emotions and feelings? He grumbled, feeling his pants grow tighter. His hand drifted down his pants, pulling himself out, trying to rid of the problem while he was alone.

Karkat tried to be as quiet as possible when he opened the door to the apartment. He walked in. Soft pants caught his attention. What was going on? He cautiously walked into the living room, seeing Sollux at his computer.

Sollux whimpered, his hand moving faster as he leaned his head on the computer. "Nnn..." he moaned quietly, watching what was on the screen. "F-fu..."

Karkat stood there, his face red. He wasn't sure whether he was more embarrassed that he was watching Sollux get off or because Sollux had found his research... 'Should I say something to let him know I'm here? Or should I just let him continue? What if I went over to him?' The thoughts started to flood Karkat's mind as he feet carried him closer to his matesprit.

Sollux looked up cursing as he flailed his arms, grabbing a blanket to cover himself with. "F-FUCK KK! WHY ARE YOU HOME!"

"I-I... I wanted to... Surprise you..." Karkat stuttered. He wasn't sure what to do. Sollux looked almost pissed. "Sorry..." He looked down, heading toward the kitchen to start on dinner, knowing that the steaks would take a little while to cook.

Sollux grumbled, his face flushed bright red. He grumbled words as he went into the bathroom and finished up, before cleaning up and coming back out going into the kitchen, his hands shaking slightly. "KK..." he whispered quietly, looking down, not looking up at him. "I'm thorry I thnapped."

Karkat nodded. He knew he couldn't look at Sollux, his face was too red and it had nothing to do with the fact that Sollux had found the stuff on Nepeta's flash drive. He could still hear Sollux panting softly in his head, his head tilting back with pleasure... "It's fine." Karkat murmured. He wanted to know what it was that had made Sollux get to that point.

Sollux whimpered and nodded, sitting down at the table. 'How embarrassing...' He thought to himself, rubbing his arms. He hadn't expected KK to come home so quickly, and to see him like that...

"You got that from Nepeta's flash drive... That video..." Karkat mumbled, watching the steak cook.

Sollux cleared his throat. "Y-Yeah..." he said, looking down. "You didn't want me to thee it."

"Too late now huh..." Karkat laughed nervously. Well, this is awkward. Why did it really matter? Karkat has seen Sollux when he was turned on before so what made this so much different? The fact that it wasn't him making Sollux have that expression?

Sollux sighed quietly. "I'm thorry thith ith bothering you tho much." he said quietly, looking up at him, his eyes wide behind his glasses. "I'm thorry."

"It's not the fact that you found it. I don't care about that. It's..." Karkat sighed, flipping the steaks. "I was surprised to find you like that... But... Attracted at that same time..." He kept his gaze on the steaks.

Sollux blushed. "It... I don't know." he said quietly, frowning, blushing. "It came over me..."

Karkat nodded. "Can you get the veggie mix that's in the green Tupperware container out of the fridge?" Karkat couldn't move because then Sollux would see how his body was reacting to finding him like that.

"Yeah..." he got up, going into the fridge. He peered over Karkat's shoulder. "KK, did I..." he handed him the container, sliding his hands down on Karkat's hips.

Karkat shivered with the contact. "Sol..." He felt his heart begin to beat faster.

Sollux leaned against him, pushing himself up against Karkat's backside, his hands slipping around. "KK... Can I?" he asked, his hand resting on the zipper.

"But... I'm cooking... It could get into the food..." Karkat moaned as Sollux's hand slid down his pants, his head falling back against Sollux's shoulder. "Sol..."

Sollux turned him around. "Food can wait for a moment." he said, undoing his pants, pulling him out.

"Can we move over a little? There is a hot burner behind me..." Karkat asked softly.

Sollux nodded, gently moving him to the wall next to the door, pushing him up against it, his hand fumbling over Karkat's length.

Karkat pushed his hips up into Sollux's hand. "Sol..." He moaned, moving his arms around Sollux's shoulders.

Sollux moved his hand over him. "Thith ith my fault." he said softly, his hair drooping into his eyes.

Karkat nodded, moaning loudly. "Aahhhn." His hands began to wander up Sollux's neck, finding his hair and gripping it lightly.

Sollux watched him. "KK..." he leaned down, kissing at his neck before moving down, slowly taking Karkat into his mouth. He sucked gently, working his tongue over all the sensitive areas.

"AAAAAAH" Karkat gasped, his fingers gripping Sollux's hair a little tighter.

Sollux made a face. He didn't like having his hair pulled, but it wasn't horrible. He sucked gently, taking him in further. He was thankful for his tongue in this moment, smirking as his completely bifurcated tongue slid around Karkat's length.

Karkat almost screamed, his hands letting go of Sollux's hair to be brought up to his mouth, trying to cover the loud moans and sounds that were escaping his mouth.

Sollux grinned. It was almost like sweet payback. He grinned, sucking with sloppy noises, precum dripping down his chin. Romantic his ass, he thought, smirking. And Karkat thought he couldn't be romantic? Sexy was more of the term.

Karkat couldn't think about anything but Sollux's tongue at the moment. He felt like he was going to melt.

Sollux pulled back for a moment, lavishing the head with his tongue, smirking up at Karkat. He felt his pants grow tight again. "Nnn..." he hummmed.

Karkat cried out as he released. "Sol..." he whimpered, his hand still partially covering his mouth.

Sollux made a face as Karkat released partially in his mouth and mostly on his face. He pulled back, sitting down on the ground. "Food..." he said, pointing to the stove.

Karkat nodded, stuffing himself back into his pants before walking over to the stove. He sighed as he picked the frying pan up. "It's a little burnt..." He sat the pan down on a cool burner before turning back around.

Sollux nodded. "Thath fine." he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you hungry?" Karkat asked, blushing. He was flustered and still wanting more of Sollux's tongue.

"Not right now." he said, smiling. He knew what Karkat wanted.

"Okay..." Karkat looked down at the ground. His face bright red again. This was not what he had thought would happened when he decided to skip boxing but he was okay with that because either way, he was with Sollux and that made him happy.

Sollux blushed. He grinned and picked Karkat up with his powers, carrying him into the bedroom.

"Sol..." Karkat blushed. "Couldn't you just carry me yourself?" He asked. He had always kinda wanted Sollux to actually pick him up and carry him...

"Don't know if I could." he said honestly, crawling onto the bed. "I'm weak remember?"

"That doesn't mean you can't use your powers with your arms..." He was set on the bed.

"I know." he said with a grin. "KK, take your pantth off."

Karkat started to undo his jeans, being slow about it just to piss Sollux off.

Sollux grumbled, throwing himself on Karkat, fumbling with his hands as he went to drag Karkat's pants off.

"Be careful! Are you trying to knee me in the crotch?" Karkat yelled.

"Maybe." Sollux grinned, rubbing his hands along Karkat's sides.

Karkat shivered. "Gog... Sol..." He pushed into the touch.

Sollux grinned. "What?" he asked. "You want thomething?"

"You." Karkat grinned, pulling Sollux on top of him, connecting their lips.

Sollux grinned into the kiss, letting his tongue brush between Karkat's lips.

Karkat pushed his hips up against Sollux's clothed hips. He moaned feeling the coarse cloth rub against him.

"KK." he breathed out, his voice shaking. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice soft.

"Anything you want... I don't care." Karkat whispered.

Sollux smiled, working his pants down off his hips, pushing Karkat to the bed. "Mmm." he hummed, looking around for something.

Karkat watched. "Maybe this time... I can have..." He took a deep breath. "Both..."

Sollux laughed. "KK, I don't think they will fit." he said, giggling a little. He felt a grin creep up his cheeks.

"Fine..." Karkat pouted a little. He had wanted to try having both of Sollux's... Extremities...

Sollux grinned. "Get me the lube." he said, grinning. "Now."

Karkat turned over on his stomach and crawled toward his night stand, getting into the drawer and pulling out the bottle. "Here Sol." He tossed it to him.

Sollux nodded, taking it before squirting some on his hand, gently slipping fingers inside Karkat.

Karkat moaned feeling the fingers push inside him. "Sol..."

Sollux grinned, adding another probably too soon, his face lighting up with a wicked smirk.

Karkat screamed with pleasure. "Sol!" He gripped his sheets in an attempt to keep his sanity as Sollux drove his body to insanity.

Sollux grinned, smirking as he watched his face turn. "Mmm~" he hummed, stroking the inside of his thigh.

"Please... Sol... Hurry..." Karkat whimpered, arching his body into Sollux's hand.

Sollux pulled his fingers away, pushing him down to the bed again, slowly inserting the lower of the two.

Karkat brought his arms around Sollux's shoulders. Moaning loudly as Sollux thrust into him.

Sollux grinned, thrusting deep into him. "F-Fuck..." he groaned, panting,

Karkat couldn't help himself as he bit down on Sollux's shoulder.

Sollux groaned and looked down at him, whimpering. "Ow that hurt." he hissed, biting back.

Karkat bucked his hips at the sudden biting. "So did that YOU PRICK!"

"Heh." he said, grinning as he slammed deeper inside of his lover.

Karkat screamed as waves of pleasure wash over him.

Sollux grinned. "You theem a bit loother." he said, looking at him, his grin growing.

"I'm still up for trying if you are..." Karkat smirked.

Sollux grinned. "Fine." he said, coating the top most one with a grin before slowly pushing it in above the first. It was a very snug fit, and he couldn't move all that much. He looked down, smelling a little bit of blood. "KK..." he whispered, hesitating. "Are you..."

Karkat's face was red and he wasn't entire sure if he liked this or not. He nodded. "I'm fine. Keep going."

"KK, you're bleeding." he said softly. "This hath to hurt at leatht a little..." he said, frowning. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm fine Sol. Really." Karkat pushed his hips up. The sound that ripped from his throat sounded like a mix between a moan and a scream. He didn't care that it hurt. He wanted Sollux. He wanted ALL of Sollux.

Sollux nodded, gently moving. He couldn't move much because it was so tight, but the motions he did do sent waves of pleasure up his spine. "F-Fuck..."

Karkat tightened his grip a little on Sollux's shoulders. His mind reeling with the mixed pain and pleasure. He moaned softly trailing kisses along Sollux's neck.

Sollux held onto him. "Good luck getting up later." he said, pushing as hard as he could.

"I don't mind missing school... Or practice." Karkat grinned at him between gasps.

"Good." he said, gripping his shoulders tightly, slamming as far as he could. After a few thrusts, both fit snugly inside his lover, the heat driving him crazy.

Karkat drug his nails down Sollux's back. "Harder!" He screamed. Why had he not suggested this before?

Sollux nodded, gripping his shoulders tightly, digging his nails in as he slammed into him, groaning.

Karkat screamed with pleasure. "Gog Sol!" Karkat wrapped his legs around Sollux's waist in an attempt to bring Sollux further into him.

Sollux grabbed the advantage, pushing Karkat's hips up further, bending his spine against him, slamming down into them.

Karkat dug his nails into Sollux's back, drawing blood. "A-aaaahn"

Sollux winced, slamming deeper into him. "A-Aaahhh!" he gasped out.

Karkat cried out. "Sol... I'm..." He felt the shiver of release.

Sollux groaned, feeling Karkat tighten around him. He cried out, releasing inside, his whole form shivering and shaking.

"Don't... Don't stop... Please." He thrust his hips back up, pleasure sending waves up his spine.

Sollux clung to him, pushing deeper as he filled him with release. "KK..."

Karkat panted as Sollux pushed into him. He ran his hands over Sollux's chest, loving the feel of his flesh against his fingers.

Sollux collapsed against him. "KK..." he said quietly, his breath coming quickly. "Nnn..."

Karkat whimpered feeling Sollux's twins slip out of him. "Why are you so amazing?" Karkat asked, snuggling into his lover. His back hurt and he knew he wouldn't be doing anything the next day.

"Becauth." he said, smiling. "I just am." he flopped over on his side, pushing his face into Karkat's arm

"I love you." Karkat kissed Sollux's neck. "Tomorrow is going to be fun with me being home."

"Yeah." he said quietly, closing his eyes. "Nnnn..."

Karkat leaned against Sollux, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

Sollux had been sitting at his computer for the rest of his break. He hadn't eaten while Karkat was at school. He hadn't slept when Karkat had come home. He had little appetite, and it showed. He did nothing but work on the same thing for 4 days straight. The only time he got up was to get a drink of water so he wouldn't die of thirst.

Karkat came home from school. "Sol? I'm home. What did you eat for lunch?"

He didn't say anything. Instead he turned his music up, continuing to program.

"Sollux." Karkat grumbled going to the kitchen, opening the fridge. He pulled the Tupperware container out of the fridge. "Fuck Sollux. Seriously?" He was pissed and his anger only grew as he walked over to the computer, pulling the chair away. He grabbed Sollux by the waist and hoisted him over his shoulder. "I will fucking spoon feed you if I have you."

"Get off of me, KK I'm in the middle of thomething important." he glared, struggling.

Karkat was glad that he had been training because now, he could easily pick Sollux up. "No. You need to eat or else you'll end up in the hospital again. Plus you start school again tomorrow."

"No." he said. "I wath in the middle of thomething. " he squirmed. "Put me down."

"NO. SOLLUX, YOU ARE GOING TO EAT, SHOWER AND TAKE A NAP BEFORE YOU GET ANYWHERE NEAR THAT COMPUTER AGAIN." Karkat yelled. "So just shut the fuck up and do what I say for once in your miserable life."

"My mitherable life?" Sollux spat, glaring at him. "I thaid put me down" he glared, struggling.

"No!" Karkat yelled, throwing Sollux down onto the kitchen table before grabbing his shoulders. "I can't stand to see you let yourself wither away." He didn't realize that his eyes had started to fill with tears. "If you want to die and leave me by myself... Fuck Sol. Why can't you just take care of yourself a little?"

Sollux winced in pain, his head hitting the table. He didn't really have an answer. His hands shook in rage. He looked up at Karkat, fighting back the urge to snap at him.

Karkat leaned down, burying his face in Sollux's chest. "I don't want you to leave me..." Karkat cried, gently punching Sollux in the chest.

"I'm not going to leave, fucker." he grumbled. "You think I would have done all that I did for you to thit here and be alone? Are you thutupid or thomething?"

"Then... Please... Just make a little bit of an effort to take care of yourself... That's all I want..." Karkat snuggled up against Sollux's chest. "Please..."

Sollux looked at him. "I wath working on thomething important..." he said, touching his face.

"What could be more important than you taking care of yourself?" Karkat asked.

"Making you happy." he said quietly, his face tinting red.

"How is starving yourself going to make me happy dumbass?" Karkat asked, looking up at Sollux.

Sollux sighed. "Thath not what I mean." he said, looking at him with stern eyes. "I'm trying to get thomething that will work... To make you happy."

"You being here makes me happy." Karkat snuggled into Sollux's chest. "That's all I need..."

"And I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere." he said softly, looking at him. "Just... Plethe..." he whispered. "Let me do what I'm doing."

"Eat just a little first... Please..." Karkat begged. "Please..."

Sollux sighed. "Fine." He rubbed his arms. "I'll eat a little bit, but then I'm going back."

"Okay..." Karkat sighed giving up. "I'll make your plate." He moved away from Sollux. He wondered what it was exactly that Sollux was trying to do.

Sollux made a slight grunting noise, standing up from where he had been thrown down. He grumbled, sitting in the chair instead, rubbing his eyes. His back was sore. He was surely bruised.

Karkat pulled the Tupperware container from the fridge and scooped some of the pasta onto a plate before sticking it in the microwave. He didn't know what to say. Surely Sollux was mad at him for acting the way he had. He pulled the plate from the microwave when it dinged and sat it in front of Sollux, gently rubbing his back. "I'm sorry..."

Sollux winced a little when he was touched, but sighed quietly and leaned into the touch. "Nn..."

"I'm going to go shower... I'm disgusting..." Karkat sighed before turning to go take the longest shower of his life.

Sollux nodded, finishing about half the plate of food, chugging the drink before going and sitting back down at the computer, getting back to work on what he had been working on

Karkat let the water get almost too hot before stepping into the shower. His body still ached from the sex he had had with Sollux only a couple days before plus his training. He still felt the bruises on his shoulders from where Sol had grabbed him.

Sollux felt his back ache where he had hit the table. He winced. He was surely going to have a bruise there.

Karkat finished the shower a lot faster than he had hoped but he walked out in nothing but a towel to their bedroom. He decided that he wanted to wear Sollux's clothes so he grabbed one of Sollux's shirts and a pair of bee pajama bottoms, slipping them on before heading out into the living room to watch a movie.

Sollux didn't look away from his computer screen. Instead, his eyes slowly drooped and he fell asleep at the desk, his head hitting the keyboard.

Karkat walked into the hall, grabbing a throw and pulling it over Sollux's shoulders. "Well.. Guess I'm going to be watching movies alone tonight."

Sollux shifted, mumbling something in his sleep. He whimpered, his whole body shivering. He had spent 4 days not sleeping, and having barely any food. His whole body shook, whimpering. "KK..." he breathed.

Karkat looked over at him. "Yeah Sol?" Sollux didn't respond after that so Karkat set the alarm clock on his phone and cuddled up in their blanket as he watched a romcom before finally falling asleep on the couch.

Sollux made a soft whimpering noise, his stomach lurching. "Bathroom..." he grumbled. He got up, stumbling into the bathroom to get sick.

Karkat shifted slightly against his giant bee plushy. "Sol..." He whimpered. He was having a nightmare.

_In the dream, Karkat was wondering around the school, something telling him to find Sollux. As he came closer, he heard pants and moans. "Sol?" He walked into the room that the noises were coming from. What he saw traumatized him._

Sollux coughed and choked, his throat burning after he flushed the toilet, his whole body shivering. He didn't want to experience that again. Instead, he curled up on the floor, tears staining his cheeks, coughing as he gently cried himself to sleep.

_Dream Karkat looked into the room, seeing Sollux thrust his hips into James. Tears ran down his cheeks. He turned and fled down the hall, attempting to escape the sounds._

Bam. "Ow…." Karkat said holding his hand to his head. Looking up, he saw the bathroom door of his and Sollux's apartment. He ran his hand over his face, surprised to find tears still streaming down his cheeks.

The water was still running in the bathroom where Sollux had rinsed his mouth out from vomiting into the porcelain bowl. He shivered in the middle of the bathroom floor, hugging his knees as he lay unconscious.

"Sol? You okay?" Karkat stood and went to the door. "I'm coming in…" He opened the door slowly. Well this is certainly one way to forget a bad dream… "Sol!" He kneeled by the passed out boy on the floor. "Sol…. Wake up… Please…" He gently shook Sollux, trying to wake him.

Sollux grumbled, his eyes rolling behind his eyelids. "Nn…" he hummed, coughing a little, reaching out. He felt his stomach lurch, but nothing came out.

"Sol… What happened?" Karkat ran his hand over Sollux's shoulder. He was worried that Sollux would have to be taken to the hospital again. His thoughts raced as he remembered the time they spent in the hospital and how frail Sollux looked.

"Water." He grumbled, coughing again, looking at him, his eyes slowly opening. "I got thick dumbath." He muttered.

"I noticed." Karkat mumbled. "I'll be back with a glass of water and an aspirin." Karkat kissed Sollux's cheek before running off to the kitchen.

Sollux sat up, leaning against the wall. He felt feverish and cold. He wrapped his arms around himself, pulling his knees to his chest, sniffing into them as he rested his head against his knees. When Karkat returned, he took the water, sipping it carefully, letting it drip down his dry throat. He felt horrible. "I don't think I thould take that." He said, pointing to the meds. "I might throw it up again."

"The aspirin will help with the inflammation in your stomach so you need to take it." Karkat said softly. "We're not going to school tomorrow." He ran his fingers through Sollux's hair.

Sollux nodded. "Good." He commented, rubbing his eyes. "I don't want to." He whispered, taking the medicine in one gulp. "Guh…." He said quietly, rubbing his eyes. "I'm thorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Karkat asked. "I'll take care of you tomorrow while you rest. You'll need lots of rest."

"You're going to thchool." He said, looking at him. "I'll thtay here."

"No. I'm staying here and taking care of you. You know that thing that you are incapable of doing on your own." Karkat grumbled. "Shit like this is why I call to remind you to eat."

Sollux growled. "Not funny." He said, clenching his fists. "You need to go to tchool." He pouted. "I'll be fine."

"I'm staying whether you want me to or not, Captor. Just get over it." Karkat stood. "Let's get you out to the living room. I bet the couch is more comfortable than the bathroom floor." Karkat held his hand out toward Sollux to help him up. His fear came back as he thought about Sollux not trusting him…

Sollux nodded, standing up slowly as he followed Karkat into the living room. "Why not the bed…" he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I'm cold."

"Because this is closer to the bathroom and easier to clean up if you get sick out here." Karkat turned toward him. "We can still cuddle out here. If you want that is…"

"Yeah…" he said quietly, his face turning slightly pink. "I ache." He muttered softly. He sat down on the couch, laying with his head against the pillow, rubbing his eyes as he put his glasses on the ground.

"The aspirin should help with that too." Karkat ran his hand through Sollux's hair. "I'm sorry that I threw you down onto the table earlier…. I was just really pissed and…." Karkat sighed. "I just want you to care about yourself as much as I care about you…."

"Yeah, thankth to you I have bruitheth." He said softly, looking at him. "I'll be fine but it hurtth."

"I'm sorry…." Karkat looked down at Sollux's chest. "I'm really the worst matesprit in the world huh…."

"No." he said quietly, gently rubbing Karkat's arm. "I thtill love you." He whispered, blushing. "Lotth."

"I don't see why… I'm angry all the time and I hurt you…." Karkat wanted to cry. He hated himself and his actions earlier proved that he didn't deserve to have someone like Sollux. He wouldn't blame Sollux for leaving him….

Sollux curled up with him.

Karkat watched Sollux fall asleep. The amount of time he spent boxing wasn't enough if he was still angry like this. After about 2 hours of watching Sollux sleep, Karkat finally fell into a light sleep, waking up from multiple nightmares.

Sollux stirred slightly from Karkat's occasional twitching. He shifted and curled up tighter to him, sniffling softly.

One particular nightmare kept Karkat from even wanting to go back to sleep. He played with Sollux's hair as he slept. It was 4 o'clock in the morning.

Sollux whimpered in his sleep, shifting into Karkat's touch. "KK…" he whispered in his sleep, rolling over.

Karkat got up when his alarm went off. "Time to go make breakfast…" He sighed as he slid off the couch and out of Sollux's arms. "Honey pancakes sound good…" He said to himself as he gathered the ingredients before mixing them all together and cooking.

Sollux grumbled, sitting up, pulling his glasses on and the blanket up around his shoulders. "Nnn…." He rubbed his nose. He felt miserable. His throat felt dry. His voice was almost completely gone.

"Sol?" Karkat looked over at the couch seeing Sollux sitting up. "You hungry? I made honey pancakes for you." He tried to smile but his thoughts returned to the nightmares.

Sollux tried to talk, but all that came out was a pathetic squeak. His face turned red and he looked at Karkat with wide eyes. He sounded like a grub. Oh wasn't this just perfect…..

"I know you're sick but that was adorable…" Karkat grinned. "Where do you want to eat? Hold up one finger for living room or two for in here."

Sollux held up one finger, glaring at him, before opening his mouth and making another loud squeaking noise. He made a face of despair, glaring and trying again, the squeak getting louder.

Karkat nodded, sliding the smallest pancake onto a plate and taking it into the living room with a glass of milk. "Here. Eat up. Grubs need their nutrients." Karkat grinned.

Sollux glared at him, his voice squeaking at him, his face contorted in anger. "Squeaaaaaaak!" he glared, his hand curling into a fist on the table.

Karkat smiled. "Love you too." Here sat the plate down, kissing Sollux's cheek gently. "After you eat, you need to shower and then bed."

Sollux nodded a little, sighing. He took a drink of the milk on the table. His voice didn't return after the drink like he thought it would, if anything it made it worse. He grumbled, which sounded like miserable squeaking. He finished eating his pancake and got up from the table, going towards the bathroom.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Karkat asked, legitimately concerned that Sollux wouldn't be able to stand for very long on his own.

Sollux nodded, trying to clear his throat, a squeak coming out instead. "Grrr…" it didn't sound very threatening, but he walked into the bathroom, holding onto the sink.

It took every ounce of Karkat's self-control to not laugh at his adorable boyfriend. "I love you and that's all I'm saying…" He smirked as he slipped his hands under Sollux's shirt. "I'll help you get undressed."

"Squeak." He replied, looking at him, his face went wide when Karkat put his hand up Sollux's shirt.

"Calm down." Karkat whispered. "I'm not going to do anything perverted to you." He sighed. "Raise your arms."

Sollux raised his arms up, sighing. He wanted to say 'I can do this myself.' Or 'please let me do this by myself.' But his voice wouldn't allow it. Instead a bunch of squeaks came out.

"I'll let you take your pants off by yourself." Karkat smirked as he pulled the shirt over Sollux's head, having to jump a little to get it all the way off. He let the shirt fall to the ground before he started undressing himself.

Sollux nodded, pulling his pants down, turning on the water nice and hot. He stepped under the water, hissing a little. Just a little too hot, he thought, turning it down a little. Was there no medium on this thing? He glared at it, squeaking. The water then turned frigid. AGH! He squeaked loudly, turning the heat back on.

Karkat stepped into the shower, shivering at the cold water. He reached around Sollux and turned it to a warmer temperature. "Better?"

Sollux nodded, leaning against Karkat. His back was bruised, but it wasn't anything horrible. He sighed quietly, letting the water rush over him. It felt amazing.

Karkat gently rubbed his hands over Sollux's back. "I really am sorry you know…" He gently kissed Sollux's shoulder, right on one of the bruises before wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist. "When are we going to have a real date?" he sighed.

Sollux squeaked back a reply. It could have been something like 'whenever my fucking voice comes back.' Or 'I don't know.'

Karkat smiled against Sollux's shoulder. "You're adorable." He kissed Sollux's shoulder one more time before pulling away and grabbing the shampoo. "Lean down toward me. I'm washing your hair."

Sollux nodded, leaning his head back, He sighed, feeling the water hit his face.

Karkat gently massaged the shampoo into Sollux's hair. "Does this feel okay?"

Sollux nodded. His voice squeaked in reply, his hands drifting to his mouth, sighing. He wished his voice wasn't gone like this.

"Rinse." Karkat smiled slightly as he gently pushed Sollux's closer to the stream of water.

Sollux stuck his head under the water, looking at Karkat with narrow eyes. He felt like a wet dog with all that hair in his face.

Karkat smirked, using his hands to work the shampoo from Sollux's hair. "Maybe we should shower like this more often." He though out loud.

Sollux nodded. He liked this. He cracked a smile, looking at Karkat with a gentle smile. He felt dizzy and he closed his eyes, sighing quietly, his voice coming out in a soft squeak.

"You okay?" Karkat asked, looking up at Sollux. "Do you need to lean on something?"

Sollux nodded, reaching out for him, leaning against his chest. "Nn.."

Karkat rubbed Sollux's back with one of his hands, his other stroking his cheek. "Do you want to make this a daily thing? Like after I get home from practice, we shower together type thing?" Karkat asked.

Sollux nodded. He squeaked a little bit, frowning.

Karkat smiled. "Do you want me to put the conditioner in for you too?"

He nodded, making a soft noise. He bent backwards, letting his hair drip back over his shoulders.

Karkat grabbed the conditioner, squirting a small amount into his hand before rubbing it into Sollux's hair. This was nice and almost romantic... He liked knowing that he could be intimate with Sollux like this.

Sollux smiled, letting Karkat touch his head. It felt good.

Karkat made sure he got the conditioner spread evenly throughout Sollux's hair before telling him to rinse.

Sollux let his hair run clean, turning to lay his head against Karkat's skin.

"You feeling a little better? Some of your pinkness has returned." Karkat ran his hands through Sollux's hair.

Sollux nodded, wrapping his arms around Karkat's waist.

"That's good." Karkat smiled. "Well. Tomorrow is Friday, so you'll only be going to school for a day this week." Karkat stated.

Sollux nodded, sighing quietly. He didn't really want to go, but he knew he had to.

"You'll be fine." Karkat patted Sollux's back gently. "Does your back still hurt?" He asked quietly.

Sollux nodded a little bit, rubbing his arms. It hurt a little, and the bruise was kind of bad, but it wasn't unbearable.

"I know I've said this a million times already but I'm sorry..." Karkat whispered. "You can wash your body by yourself right?"

Sollux nodded, gently touching his face, pulling him into a kiss, smiling.

Karkat kissed him back, trying not to giggle at the random burst of cute coupliness.

Sollux pulled back, touching his shoulder. He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it, instead going to wash his body with the soap.

Karkat was confused. What had Sollux wanted to say? "I don't care if you squeak you know..." He smiled.

Sollux made a soft noise and tried speaking. It of course came out as a squeak of almost complete nonsense.

"Try one more time. You can do it." Karkat put his hand on Sollux's shoulder.

He shook his head, pulling him in for another gentle kiss, wrapping his arms around Karkat's shoulders.

Karkat kissed him back, his arms lightly wrapping around Sollux's waist. "I love you too." Karkat whispered into the kiss.

Sollux smiled, wanting to whisper something to him, but he was fine with just being close to him. "Mmm,,,..." he hummed softly.

"Wash up. You need to be resting." Karkat gently pushed away from Sollux. "We can actually cuddle when we get out." He ran his thumb along Sollux's jaw.

Sollux smiled nodding his head as he washed his body and rinsed off.

Karkat stepped out of the shower, holding onto Sollux's hands, not sure how stable he was. He grabbed two towels from under the sink and wrapped one around his waist after handing the other to Sollux.

The boy wrapped it around him after he dried his body off as much as he could. He tied it before gently holding onto Karkat with a slim hand.

Karkat smiled at him. "I'm still borrowing your pajamas." He grinned.

"Fine." he squeaked, his voice sounding a little bit better, but not much. He pulled on his undergarments before going into the bedroom for a pair of black and yellow striped fuzzy pj pants.

Karkat pulled on a clean pair of boxers before pulling Sollux's shirt and pajama bottoms back on. "You're clothes are comfy." He smiled at Sollux. "Now time for rest and cuddles." He gently pulled at Sollux's hand.

Sollux nodded, gently rubbing his arms, following him wherever. He smiled, gently following him, curling up where they decided to lay.

Karkat decided to use his bee plushy as a pillow for Sollux. "This is mine. No stealing it."

Sollux pouted. "Aww..." he mumbled, laying his head on it.

"I bought it because you were so connected with the computer that I almost couldn't tell you apart from the damn thing." Karkat giggled. "It's not as nice to cuddle with as you are but it helped a little..."

Sollux frowned. He squeaked out something unintelligible, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Don't look at me like that." Karkat mumbled. "I don't know why you were attached to the computer but it made me sad... I missed cuddling with you..." He snuggled up closer to Sollux. "But I have you now and I'm happy."

Sollux curled up with him. "Can we watch a movie?" his voice was raspy. "Nn."

"Do you want to pick it out this time?" Karkat asked.

"You can." he replied, snuggling the bee.

Karkat glared at him for a moment before crawling over him and going to the movie shelf and picking out one of his favorites. "What do you want for dinner tonight?"

"Dunno." he said softly, rubbing his arms. It didn't matter. He would eat anything KK fixed.

"Okay. After the movie, since I know you'll fall asleep, I'll go to the store and get some stuff." Karkat smiled at him as he put the movie in.

Sollux nodded. Through the movie he tried his hardest to stay awake, but the movie was just too boring for him to handle. He fell asleep, his mouth parted. He drooled lightly on the pillow.

The movie ended and Karkat sighed, turning over to find a passed out Sollux. "Told you." He kissed his cheek before getting up carefully, changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before heading out to the store.

Sollux stirred, finding Karkat not there. He rubbed his eyes, sitting up. His stomach grumbled painfully.

Karkat paid for the groceries and hurried back to the apartment. "I'm back Sol." He stated as he walked in with the few bags. "You want to help make dinner?"

Sollux nodded, getting up. He shuffled into the kitchen, shifting a bit as he coughed some.

"Wash your hands and then I'll set you up with chopping some vegetables." Karkat smiled as he got the food out. "We're going to make stir-fry!"

Sollux nodded, sticking his hands in the sink. He washed them carefully, waiting for further instruction.

"Okay. We have mushrooms, carrots, celery and onions. Chop them into bite size pieces on the green cutting board. That's the one for vegetables. I'll cut the meat." He instructed as he washed his hands. "Do you want noodles or rice with the stir-fry?"

"Noodleth." he squeaked out, his voice soft. He used his psionics to try and steady his hand as he chopped as best as he could.

"Like this." Karkat moved behind him, placing his hand over Sollux's and moving the knife in a rocking motion. "This way you don't hurt your wrist and it's faster." Karkat informed him.

Sollux nodded, shifting his arm so he could do such a task.

"Perfect." Karkat smiled as he pulled away. "I'll have you cooking in no time!" He turned to start chop the meat into slivers.

Sollux rolled his eyes but nodded his head, shifting as he finished chopping up the ingredients.

Karkat started to hum as he cooked but it sounded a little like his purrs. "Purrrrrrrr." He hummed softly as he started to cook the meat after putting the noodles in a pan of boiling water.

Sollux watched him, sighing quietly, as he did so He loved Karkat so much.

Karkat started to gather spices. "Can you get in the fridge and get the bottle of soy sauce?"

Sollux nodded, digging in the fridge. He looked through the packages, trying to find it.

"It's on the door by the eggs." Karkat said as he stirred the noodles.

"Oh." he replied, getting it and handing it to Karkat.

"Thanks." He looked up at Sollux. "Do you want to have honey cookies and ice cream for dessert? Or do you think you won't be able to eat that much?"

Sollux shook his head. He knew he could barely stand to eat what was cooking right now. His stomach twinged.

"Then we'll save that for another time." Karkat smiled. "Here." He held out the spatula. "Can you stir the stir-fry and meat around while I go to the bathroom?"

Sollux nodded, standing in front of the stove, stirring the meat around

"Thanks." He kissed Sollux's cheek before hurrying off to the bathroom.

Sollux made a few noises and coughs before stirring, sighing as he waited, looking into the pan.

Karkat came out a couple minutes later. "I got it now. Go sit." He took the spatula and started stirring the meat gently again. The food was done and Karkat fixed their plates before bringing them into the living room.

Sollux nodded, sitting down at the table, curling himself up a little. He was happy.

"You okay?" Karkat asked as he sat the plates down. "You look like you're going to cry..."

He cleared his throat, rubbing his arms. "I'm fine." he said, rubbing his eyes. "Jutht thleepy."

"Okay." Karkat looked at him, his eyes fill with worry. "Eat slowly. I don't want you to make yourself sick again."

Sollux nodded, eating slowly, savoring each bite.

"After this, I want you to lay down. I'm going to go to Terezi's to get our homework and stuff from today." Karkat said as he ate.

Sollux nodded. "Okay." he said, coughing a little bit. "I'm going to go to bed early." he said softly.

"Good." Karkat leaned on Sollux's shoulder gently. "Today was nice." He smiled.

"It wath." he said softly, looking over at him.

"I need to go to Terezi's place. You lay down." He looked up at Sollux, kissing his cheek before standing up.

Sollux nodded, cleaning up the dishes as best as he could before going and curling up in bed with his bee plushy. He didn't care if it was Karkat's. For the time being he could sleep with it and Karkat couldn't get too mad at him. He smiled a little bit, curling up with it as he fell asleep.

Karkat knocked on Terezi's door. "He's asleep. I need your computer." Terezi nodded and let Karkat inside. He got on the web and went to a customization website. He ordered a reversible blanket that had bees on one side and black and yellow stripes on the other along with a small bean bag bee pillow. He smiled seeing that it would get there the night before Valentine's Day. "I hope Sollux will like this..."

"I'm sure he will." Terezi said softly, looking in his direction. "What'd you order him?"

"A blanket that has bees on one side and black and yellow stripes on the other along with a bean bag bee pillow." Karkat looked over at her. "Thanks for letting me use your computer. I don't want him know that I did this. And thanks for getting our work too."

"No problem." she said, smiling. "Make sure it's the right papers."

"These look right. Thanks again." Karkat said as he got up and headed back to his apartment. "Sol? Are you asleep? I'm back."

Sollux snored quietly, his hands wrapped around the bee pillow in such a manner it was like a death vice. He breathed quietly, his eyes closed.

Karkat smiled seeing Sollux cuddled with his bee plushy. "I told you that was mine." He sighed sitting on the edge of the bed. "I guess you can sleep with it until I get changed..." He whispered into Sollux's ear. "Then you're my cuddle buddy."

Sollux breathed quietly, curling up with the plushy, his legs shifting under the covers.

Karkat shifted off the bed, changing back into the clothes that he had borrowed from Sollux before going over to the bed and sliding the bee from Sollux's arms, replacing it with himself.

He shifted, cuddling whatever it was in his arms. It was warm. He rubbed his face into the back of it.

"Sollux. That tickles." Karkat giggled softly as Sollux rubbed his face into his neck.

Sollux made a soft noise and stopped, breathing against it instead.

"Cute." Karkat smiled.

The next morning the alarm went off, and Sollux made a soft grumbling noise, pushing his face further into Karkat's back.

Karkat sat up, hitting the alarm clock before turning to Sollux and placing his hand on his shoulder. "Sol, get up. You come back to school today." Karkat whispered as he started to crawl off the bed.

The boy made a soft noise and nodded, rubbing his face with his hands. "But do I have to..."

Karkat smiled down at him. "I'm sorry but you do. Come on." Karkat gently pulled Sollux so he was standing.

The boy rubbed his eyes, whimpering. "Thower..." he said quietly, shifting a little bit.

"Okay." Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux's waist, looking up at him. "It'll be fine." He smiled up at him.

Sollux shuffled towards the bathroom, pulling KK with him. He rubbed his eyes again, yawning big.

Karkat shuffled without letting go of Sollux, trying not to trip. He giggled as Sollux pulled him along.

"Whath funny." he said quietly, his voice raspy.

"Nothing. You're just being adorable." Karkat smiled as he pulled his shirt over his head.

Sollux pulled off his layers of clothing, tossing them on the ground as he went to turn on the water.

"Hey Sol. I'll be late today. I'm going to stay at the gym a little longer than normal." Karkat informed him as he too stepped into the shower.

Sollux nodded. "Okay." he said softly, rubbing his eyes as he soaked his face. "Nnn..." he hummed quietly.

Karkat grabbed the shampoo. "Lean back. I'm short." He said as he squirted some shampoo into his hand.

He leaned back, frowning. "Shorty." he said softly.

"Shut it giant." Karkat grumbled rubbing Sollux's hair with the shampoo.

Sollux laid his head on Karkat's shoulder, frowning a little bit, his hands slipping around Karkat's waist.

"This isn't helping me wash your hair dumbass." Karkat grumbled pushing Sollux off him a little.

Sollux sighed and stood back a little, letting his head hang.

"Thank you." Karkat gently scrubbed Sollux's hair, being careful on his nails. "Are you feeling any better?"

Sollux made a soft noise and nodded. "Yeah." he said, the steam helping his throat. "I'm just tired." he replied.

"You're voice is a lot better." Karkat smiled. "Rinse."

Sollux dunked his head under the shower stream, rinsing his hair.

"Do you wanna wash my hair for me?" Karkat asked.

Sollux blinked at him, his hands gently moving up over his face. "No." he said, turning around, the hint of a smirk in his features

"Dick." Karkat smirked, as he started to wash his own hair. "After all the stuff I do for you and you won't even wash my hair. That's not fair Sollux." Karkat smirked.

"Thure." he replied, trying to wash his face.

"I'm kidding and you know it." Karkat gently nudged Sollux's side with his elbow. Karkat smirked, getting a devious idea. He reached around Sollux, acting as if he was grabbing the body wash before turning the water on cold.

Sollux nearly screamed, turning around and raising his hand before screaming again feeling the cold water pour over his body. "W-WHAT NO!"

Karkat started to laugh before he turned the water back. "Good morning sleepy head." He smirked.

Sollux glared at him. "That was so mean." he said, grumbling at him.

"I know but it woke you up." Karkat smiled, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist. "I love you."

Sollux grumbled and nodded. The pair got ready for school. They snatched a quick breakfast before going getting on the bus.

James looked back at Karkat. "Hey, do you and Sollux want to go to the movies this weekend? I have free movie tickets."

Karkat looked over at Sollux. "How about it Sol?"

Sollux shrugged. "Ath long ath ith not a thitty rom com." he mumbled.

"What's a romcom?" James asked.

"It's romantic comedy. I love that genre and he hates it." Karkat sighed.

"Well, I wanted to go watch a horror movie."

A wicked grin crossed Sollux's features. "Thure." he replied.

"Oh no..." Karkat mumbled, flopping back into the seat.

* * *

><p>Tavros was wheeled onto the bus by Gamzee. He rubbed his eyes, looking exhausted. He had a blanket in his lap today.<p>

Gamzee sat there, his mind racing as he had one of his mild episodes of withdrawals.

Tavros looked over at him. "Gamzee?' he asked, reaching his hand out for his best friend and lover.

"I'm fine. This is mild." He smiled softly at Tavros.

Tavros frowned, reaching out and touching his arm. "Still..."

"I'm fine." Gamzee leaned over, resting his head against Tavros' shoulder. "Thanks."

Tavros smiled, gently running his hand through Gamzee's curly black hair.

Gamzee started to shake lightly, the withdrawals getting worse. "Going cold turkey sucks." He mumbled into Tavros' shoulder.

He nodded, gently reaching out and touching his arm. "I'm sorry Gamzee..." he whispered, touching his face. "I'm here for you and you're so close to being through..."

Gamzee nodded feeling the shakes becoming worse. "Thanks Tav." He mumbled.

Tavros reached his arms out, wrapping them around Gamzee tightly, trying to stop the shaking.

Gamzee shook for a few more minutes before the episode subsided. He took a deep breath, feeling relieved that the shaking was gone.

* * *

><p>Sollux grinned even wider. "Yup." he said, leaning back in the bus seat, wrapping his arms around himself. It was cold.<p>

Karkat could just tell that this would not end well. Sollux knew how much he hates horror movies and that it's all because of the nightmares they give him.

Sollux reached out gently touching Karkat's arm.

Karkat looked over at Sollux. "You're a dick." He glared. He knew Sollux had only agreed because it was a horror movie.

Sollux sighed.

Karkat leaned against the window, trying not to fall asleep. He was tired and wished that he had let them stay home.

Sollux sighed quietly, gently reaching out and touching Karkat's arm.

Karkat went to his first class. He sat at the back of the room, listening to the teacher ramble about how important stage presence is when giving a speech. "Did you know that Karkat and that Solfreak guy are gay together and the Karkat is the girl." Karkat shot a glare in the direction of which the insult had come.

* * *

><p>The bus finally arrived at school and the students made their way to their first classes. Tavros wheeled to his first class, taking his seat behind one of the tables near the back of the classroom. Gamzee had gotten up to go to the bathroom and he knew he would return shortly. The attacks always made him kind of dizzy and kind of sick, so he knew what he was doing.<p>

Gamzee sat on the bathroom floor, his head against the wall. He hated these attacks.

"That Tavros kid is alone. I told you that no one could stand needy little fucks like him. Even that stoner guy left." One of the kids in the room said.

Tavros looked over, hearing the voices from people whispering. "W-What?" he asked, frowning as he tugged the blanket a bit tighter around his hips.

Gamzee came back a few minutes later. "No one wants to be bothered by someone as needy and clingy as you." One of the kids said to Tavros. Gamzee glared at him as he walked over to him. "If you ever talk to Tav like that again, I will personally cull you." He said before sitting down next to Tavros.


	12. Chapter 12

"Gamzee..." Tavros looked up at him, his face pink. "Wh... Why..." he bit his lip, looking down.

"I'm protecting the one I love." Gamzee smiled at him. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

He gently touched Gamzee's shoulder, looking down, wiping the tears from his eyes. He felt loved, but cold.

"Don't cry Tav. Please." He wrapped his arms around Tavros.

Tavros looked up. "I'm not." he said quietly, rubbing his arms. "I'll be fine."

"I love you." Gamzee whispered into Tavros' ear.

* * *

><p>Karkat couldn't believe that people were calling him a girl. Yes, it was true that he was the one that got most of the pleasure but that was because that's what Sollux wanted. He growled as he thought of being called girly. "That's it..." Next time, and he knew there would be a next time, he would be the dominate one.<p>

Karkat pulled out his phone, texting Sollux. "SOME ASSHOLE JUST CALLED ME A GIRL."

Sollux looked at his phone and tried not to laugh.

He looked down, grinning and texted back. "but you are the giirl KK."

"FUCK YOU. I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU ANYMORE." Karkat sent back before opening a message to Gamzee. "CAN I STAY WITH YOU AND TAV FOR A COUPLE DAYS? I'M FIGHTING WITH CAPTOR."

Sollux growled and replied back to him. "KK, 2eriiou2ly? you're goiing to get angry over that iit wa2 a joke fucka22."

"YES. I'M PISSED. I AM NOT A GIRL IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE." Karkat sent back. He couldn't believe that Sollux had actually called him a girl. His phone vibrated again.

"sUrE." Gamzee had sent back after asking Tavros.

Sollux grumbled, feeling his psionics flare. He texted back, "fiine. 2ee iif ii care. 2ee iif ii care that you dont come home. what the fuck do you do for me anyway except force me to eat when iim iin the miiddle of doiing 2omethiing. you know what? fuck you"

"I'M NOT GOING TO EVEN ANSWER THAT BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT I DO A LOT FUCKING MORE FOR YOU THAN YOU DO FOR ME. I'M THE REASON YOU'RE STILL FUCKING ALIVE. IF IT WASN'T FOR ME MAKING YOU EAT, YOU WOULD PROBABLY BE DEAD BY NOW."

"BY THE WAY. I'M NOT COMING HOME. I'M GOING TO LIVE WITH GAMZEE AND TAVROS FROM NOW ON."

Words hit Sollux like a stone in his stomach. "...what?" he typed back, fighting the urge to have tears stream down his face. He clenched his fists together, grumbling as he shook from rage.

"DON'T FUCKING TALK TO ME RIGHT NOW." Karkat sent back. He knew that he would have Sollux groveling at his feet by saying that he was moving in with Gamzee and Tavros.

Sollux excused himself from class, moving to go to the restroom. He felt horrible. His stomach was upset, and Karkat was doing nothing but horribly upsetting him. He felt tears drip down his cheeks, and felt even more upset by that fact that Karkat wasn't coming home tonight. He locked himself in a stall, feeling tears drip down his cheeks.

James walked into the bathroom. He heard sobbing and looked under the stall door, seeing Sollux's mismatched shoes. "Sollux?" He asked.

Karkat felt bad for yelling at Sollux but he hated being called a girl. It pissed him off to no end.

"Fuck go away man." he grumbled, leaning against the wall, trying to avoid his voice getting broken up by the sound of sobs.

"Did you fight with Karkat?" He asked. "You can talk to me. I won't judge you." He said, sitting down outside the stall.

The bell rang and Karkat sighed, grabbing his stuff from his desk and making his way to his locker. He knew he had hurt Sollux but it was the only way to get what he wanted. He felt horrible. "I'm a horrible matesprit..." Karkat sighed.

"Hey Karkat. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to the dance on Saturday?" Karkat turned. His gaze was met by a small blonde girl.

"What?"

"I was asking if you wanted to go to the dance with me."

"No." Karkat replied sharply.

"Why not? Do you have a girlfriend? Are you going with her?"

"I don't have a girlfriend but I'm not going to the dance. I don't want to." He stated.

"Since you don't have a girlfriend why don't you just go out with me?" Karkat turned to face the human girl again.

"I don't have a girlfriend but I have someone that I love deeply and I am very happy in my relationship with said person. So leave me the fuck alone." Karkat growled before slamming his locker shut and walking to his next class.

Sollux sniffed, blowing his nose. He felt horrible. He rubbed his eyes and let out a shaky voice. "He hates me..." he whispered.

"No he doesn't. He's just a prissy bitch." James smirked. "Come out. I think I hear him yelling at someone."

Sollux stood, going to the sink and splashing cold water on his features before he opened the door, hearing Karkat's locker slam shut. He winced, seeing this chick standing next to his Karkat.

Karkat turned to face the human girl again. "I don't have a girlfriend but I have someone that I love deeply and I am very happy in my relationship with said person. So leave me the fuck alone." Karkat growled before slamming his locker shut and walking to his next class.

Sollux felt tears roll down his cheeks. "KK..." he whispered, turning around, and instead heading back into the bathroom.

"Sollux... I'm going to go get Karkat. He's apparently the only one who can calm you down." James opened the door to the bathroom again.

Karkat stomped off to his next class. Just because he doesn't have a girlfriend doesn't mean that he would want a human girl. He had Sollux and that's all he wanted. He stopped in the middle of the hallway. "I've fucked up royally..." He sighed. "I hope he doesn't leave me..."

Sollux sat in the bathroom, digging at his arms with his nails. This was all his fault. Words can hurt now apparently and now he had to do something about it. He quivered and shifted, rubbing the scratch marks on his arms.

James walked out, catching up with Karkat quickly. "Sollux is crying. He's in the bathroom." Karkat looked up at him. "Why do you know that?" He asked.

"Because I had to pee and I heard him in there. He's in the last stall." Karkat nodded and started toward the bathroom.

Sollux tried to calm himself down enough to go back to class. He shifted, rubbing his eyes, cleaning his glasses on his shirt.

"Sollux? Are you in here?" Karkat asked, peering from behind the door to the bathroom.

Sollux felt his voice hitch in his throat. He breathed quieter, making a soft noise. "Nnn..."

Karkat walked back to the stall, peeking under the door and seeing Sollux's shoes. "I know you're here Sollux."

"KK..." he whispered. "I'm thorry..." he felt a shiver come over him.

"For what?" Karkat asked. He knew that Sollux meant calling him a girl but he wanted to hear Sollux say it.

"For calling you a girl." he said softly, trying not to cry. He quivered and looked at the closed door.

"Open the door." Karkat sighed. "I want a hug."

Sollux nodded, using his powers to open the door. He didn't want to move.

Karkat walked in, gently pulling Sollux into a hug. "I love you. You're the most important thing to me. I hope you realize that."

"Then… Why did you thay all thothe thingth." he whispered.

"Because I was pissed. I'm still going to stay with Gam and Tav for a few days but just to calm my head completely. I don't want to snap at you again." Karkat said. "I can't take the thought of you leaving me because I went off on you..."

Sollux gently rubbed Karkat's back, shoving his face into his neck. "Nnn..."

"I don't want to lose you..." Karkat whispered, running his fingers through Sollux's hair. "I love you so much..."

"You won't." he whispered, sniffing. "I was... Just really scared." he whispered.

"About what." Karkat whispered. "I would never leave you. I need you..."

"I need you too." he whispered, his voice soft. "I... I'm thorry about what I thaid."

"It's fine. I overreacted. I shouldn't have gotten that mad." Karkat admitted. "It just felt like you were saying that I'm not worth it... That's what it felt like those people were calling me."

Sollux shook his head. "No... Ith not that at all." he replied, looking up at him. "I'll be fine. Go to clath."

"I want a kiss first..." Karkat mumbled, his cheeks turning pink.

Sollux nodded, gently pulling him in for a kiss, their lips touching for a brief moment.

Karkat kissed back gently before pulling away slightly. "I love you Sollux." He whispered, kissing Sollux again.

"I love you too." he whispered, looking at him.

"Go to class. I'll see you later." Karkat smiled, stealing a final kiss before pulling away.

Sollux nodded, standing up. He used the restroom and then headed to class, sulking down in his seat a bit.

"Sollux... Are you okay?" Katie asked seeing that Sollux looked down. "If you're not doing anything, do you want to hang out later?"

"Thure." he grumbled. "I've had a bad morning."

"We'll talk about it later okay." She smiled softly at him. "Ew... Katie, why are you talking to Solfreak?" Sarah asked.

"Because he is actually really cool. How did things go with asking Karkat out? Wait, I already know. He turned you down because he is in love with someone else." Katie smirked.

Sollux looked over at Katie. That was so sweet of her. He felt a twinge of guilt in his chest, smiling. "Hey Katie?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah?" She turned around, smiling.

"Leth hang out today." he said, a smile on his features.

Katie smiled, nodding her head. "That sounds nice."

Sollux smiled and went about his day. The day ended, and he watched Karkat leave to go elsewhere as he got on the bus, sitting down before plugging his headphones in.

"Sollux. Can I sit with you?" Katie asked after tapping his shoulder.

Sollux looked over and scooted to the window. "Yeah, thorry." he said, taking out his headphones.

"It's okay. I just figured that if we sat together that I would actually know when to get off the bus."

"Yeah." Sollux replied, looking out the window. Something about all of this was a bit awkward, but Sollux couldn't place it. He watched Gamzee and Tavros get on the bus before sighing quietly, looking back out the window.

Gamzee was confused. Who was that human girl sitting with Sollux? "Hey Sollux. Tav and I want to talk to you later... So come by before Karkat gets home from practice."

Sollux nodded. "KK ithn't coming home tonight I know. Heth thatying over there I'm very much aware." he crossed his arms, looking at Gamzee. "Ith that what thith ith about?"

"No. It's about some things that he told Terezi and she told me. I just want to let you know what's going on in his head." Gamzee said. "We know that you know that he's staying with us but we don't want him to know that we are telling you what he told Terezi."

"Oh. okay." he frowned. "Can't come back here and tell me now?" he looked over at Katie.

"All I have to say is matespritship." Gamzee said turning around. "It's up to you whether you want to talk about it on the bus or wait until we get to the apartments."

Sollux blinked. "Matethpritthhip?" he looked at the empty seat in front of him. "Come tell me." he said, looking at Katie. "Ith that okay?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" She asked.

"I'm going back there for a couple minutes okay Tav?" Tavros nodded. Gamzee moved. "Karkat feels like he's a burden to you because he wants you to take care of yourself. He also feels like the computer is slightly more important to you than he is because of how much time you spend on it. Tav, Terezi and I talked and we think you should do something romcom like for him." Gamzee said. "He thinks that he is a shit matesprit. So we would advise you to do something to make him think otherwise besides just telling him."

Sollux felt a blush come across his cheeks. "I have thomething planned, but ith too embarrathing." he said, looking down at his hands.

"Well hurry up. He's really scared that he's going to lose you." Gamzee sighed. "I'm going back to Tav now."

Sollux let out a sigh, sinking into the seat. "Great..." he muttered, laying his head against the window.

"I can help you come up with ideas if you want... Karkat seems to like romantic stuff, right? I do too so I know some things that might make him really happy." Katie smiled at Sollux.

"I have thome ideath, but like I thaid, they're too damn embarrathing to think about."

"Tell me. I can help you plan!" Katie smiled.

Sollux mumbled something about a bee costume, and then dropped the subject. He sighed quietly, his face flushed red.

They were quiet the rest of the way to the apartment. Katie followed Sollux. "Now tell me your plan and I'll tell you if it's the right kind of romantic." She smiled, sitting on the couch.

Sollux blushed darkly as he unlocked the door, going into the living room and turning on his computer. "I bought a cothtume." he said. "And uh... Well... Yeah..." he blushed slightly, his face pink.

"For sex... That's not romantic... That's kinky. Two completely different things." Katie sighed. "Romantic would be like buying him roses or taking him to the beach at sunset. Something like that. By the way, do you two have plans for Valentine's Day? It's coming up soon."

"Valentineth day?" he tilted his head, even embarrassed that he had even mumbled those words to her. "Guh..." he covered his face with his hands.

"You do know what Valentine's Day is, don't you?" she asked.

"No..." he frowned, looking down. "I was going to look thtuff up, but..." he frowned.

"It's a day to spend with your lover or significant other, which ever title you choose, and make them feel loved while they do the same for you. Usually there is an exchanging of gifts. Girls get chocolate, flowers, jewelry, or stuffed animals and guys usually get cards or something that the girl or their partner or whatever thinks fits them." She explained. "It can be sexual but that takes away the romantic aspect of the holiday."

Sollux frowned. "Thould I get him flowerth?" he looked at her. "I keep falling athleep during hith thtupid movieth."

"How long have you two been dating? Have you even been on a date?" She asked. "Flowers may not be the right thing for him though from the movie titles I see on the shelf, he would probably just be happy that you got him something."

"Yeah... I'm thit at thith romantic thing." he frowned.

"Well, it's a good thing that we're friends!" Katie smiled. "I would say that taking him on a date would be the best way to be romantic. It would have to be a nice restaurant... Or! Why don't you guys go on a trip of something for spring break! You could go to Florida and have dinner on the beach and watch the sunset. That's something that would seem fantasy like." She started rambling off various romantic settings for Sollux to choose from.

Sollux perked up. "Well... I'm planning on taking... Him... To... Florida." his voice getting softer as the sentence went on. He didn't want to tell her that he had been hacking a code to get into the system for the airport so he didn't have to pay for anything. He hated having to pay for stuff.

"Take him to Orlando! They have an awesome beach there plus loads of yummy restaurants and nice hotels!" She smiled. "I think he would like that a lot!"

Sollux paused. "Ithnnt that where..." he hesitated. "Dithney ith?" he said quietly.

"Yeah. Disney World is awesome!" She smiled even wider. "I haven't been since I was like 10 or so but it was awesome and I had so much fun."

Sollux looked at his computer. He had a secret he hadn't told anyone, and that was that he loved Disney movies and had ever since he saw the first troll one back on Alternia. Since then he had collected all the ones with princesses in them. He liked them... But he would never admit that to Karkat. Never. "I want to go there."

"I would recommend that." She smiled.

Sollux worked that into his plan. He looked up at her, smiling a little. "Thankth." he said, leaning back against the couch. "Want thomething to eat? I thadly can't cook, but I think KK left leftoverth."

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble." She sighed. "I didn't get to eat a lot at lunch because I was studying for my math test. I hate math..."

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he frowned, going into the kitchen, digging in the fridge. "What the fuck." he grumbled, taking out a container. "What the hell ith thith..."

"That looks like some spaghetti that has molded and dried..." Katie said after peeking over Sollux's shoulder. "Hey, look! Stir-fry!" She smiled.

"Oh." he pulled out a different container. "Yuck." he frowned, looking at her. "Thorry. I... Don't eat much." he frowned, looking at her, shrugging his shoulders.

"That's why you're so skinny. You should eat more." She smiled. "So... Karkat is the one who does the cooking? What about the other chores? For two guys living in an apartment, this is awfully clean."

"I'm kind of awethome and I clean thuff when I don't mean to." He said, laughing. "KK ith like my maid. I really don't make much of a meth though."

"That's not a nice thing to say about your boyfriend!" She scolded him. "You need to think about him and what he wants too!"

Sollux frowned. "It wath a joke." he said, sticking the container in the microwave to heat it up. "He... Taketh care of me... I never really know... How to." he frowned. "I got tho worked up over thomething I didn't eat for a long time." he touched his sides. "I wath in the hothpital for a while, but I'm fine now... I jutht can't gain weight."

"I bet that made him sad... You can just see in his eyes that he cares a lot about you. It's almost heartbreaking. He looks so sad when he's not around you, like at any moment he'll wake up from a dream..." Katie said softly. "The other girls only notice his looks but when you actually, really look at him and watch his expressions, you can see how much you affect him."

Sollux frowned. "I know he hateth what I do." he said, sitting up on the counter, making sure not to hit his head. "I worry that he ith going to drive himthelf mad for me."

"Then why don't you make an alarm or something to remind yourself to eat and stuff? Take a little of the burden upon yourself?" Katie suggested. "That smells delicious. He must be a really good cook." She smiled.

"He ith." he smiled, his face flushing red, the timer going off. He got out two plates, dumping half of the hot container on one and the other half on the other. It was just enough. He got out some drinks for the two of them and sat down at the table. "Ith juth that I thit (sit) down at the computer and forget about everything except for programming and hacking."

"You're a programmer? Cool! My older brother does that for the military." Katie smiled. She grabbed the fork and started to eat. "Oh my god! He should go to cooking school! Like right now!" She shoved some more of the stir-fry into her mouth.

Sollux laughed, eating slowly, trying to savor it... And not to eat so fast that he would get sick. "KK is really thweet to me." he said, smiling as he took a drink. "And yeah. I program tonth of thtuff."

"That's cool. Maybe you could get a job with my brother. He said that the military always needs more programmers." She smiled, taking another bite. She hummed as she chewed, the food making her happy.

Military? That was a scary thought. "I think I'd prefer to continue what it ith I do." he smiled,

"They pay really well." She said. "You also wouldn't have to go through boot camp. Especially if you were a contract programmer." she informed him.

"Maybe..." he said quietly, looking. "I don't think I could work for them. Jutht perthonal reathonth."

"Yeah..." She looked over at him. "I'm going to take a guess and say that you're lonely without Karkat here... Why don't you trying talking to him? Maybe he'd come back if you told him that you were lonely." she said.

"Maybe." he said quietly. "If all elth failth..." he pouted. "I thuppothe I could go to one of my frienth's apartmenth for the night."

"Yeah. Are you going to be okay by yourself? I'm not an amazing cook like Karkat but I can teach you how to make mac and cheese." She laughed.

"I can make thtuff in the microwave. I might get TZ to come over and... Well wait... Nevermind." he mentally slapped himself for even the thought of the blind girl getting him anything.

"Okay. Well, I should be getting home. My brother is probably worried about me." She smiled as she stood and grabbed her bags. "I'll see ya Monday."

Sollux smiled and nodded, letting her out before plopping himself in front of the computer sending a message to Nepeta.

"Hey Sollicks! Meow are you?" Nepeta asked.

"help." he replied back. "can ii 2tay at your place twoniight?"

"Let me ask Terezi." Nepeta replied. "She said okay! But why do you want to stay here? Did you and Karkitty have a fight?"

"KK ii2 2tayiing wiith TC and AT." he sighed as he looked at his computer screen. "iit2 up2ettiing."

"I'm sorry. Of course you can stay with us. :33"

Sollux sighed, going into the bedroom, getting some clean clothing for the next day, plus kidnapping Karkat's bee pillow. He held it close to himself. At least this would keep him company until Karkat came back.

Karkat finally decided it was time to go home, grab some clothes and then go to Gam's place. He walked down the street, hands in his pockets as he made his way back. He hoped Sollux was in the apartment so he could have one final kiss before leaving to stay with Gamzee and Tavros. "Maybe I... No. You need to do this. He needs to learn to take care of himself." He said as he walked up the stairs.

Sollux shoved his stuff into a backpack. The weekend would bring some hardships, but he knew that at least Nepeta and Terezi would take care of him. He sighed as he heard the key being put into the door.

Karkat opened the door. "Ah... Sol.." he whispered. "Did you eat dinner yet?" He asked. "What's with the bag? Are you going somewhere?"

"I ate thtir fry." he said, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "I'm staying with AC and TZ. I'm lonely... And I think I'll go mad if I'm here alone without you."

"Ah..." Karkat looked at the ground. He was hurting Sollux and he knew it. "I was just going to grab a couple changes of clothes and my..." He looked up, seeing Sollux holding his bee. "Bee..." He finished the sentence. "But you can take it if you want..." He muttered, walking past Sollux and toward their room.

Sollux sighed, feeling himself start to choke up. "KK..." he said quietly. "Are... Are you mad at me?" he bit his lip, looking down.

"No." he said. "I just... Want a couple days to myself..." Lies. He didn't want Sollux to stay with Nepeta and Terezi. He wanted Sollux home, at least attempting to take care of himself or at least letting Karkat take care of him. He wanted to stay and cuddle with Sollux, tell him that everything was fine and that he was just stupid for thinking that he was going to be left for a human.

Sollux felt himself shiver. "KK..." he said quietly, squeezing the bee tightly, his nails digging into it. He had secretly packed one of Karkat's shirts in his bag. It would be a little bit big on him since Sollux was physically smaller but taller than Karkat. "I... I will thee you thunday?" he asked softly, his voice shaking.

"Yeah..." Karkat nodded as he grabbed a small duffle bag from the closet. He waited until Sollux left before he started packing the bag. He put a pair of Sollux's pajama bottoms and one of his shirts in the bag. "I'm so sorry Sol..."

* * *

><p>Nepeta opened the door. "Hello!" She smiled.<p>

When Nepeta opened the door, Sollux broke down into tears, holding the bee plush to his face, covering all but his two colored eyes behind tinted glasses.

"Come in Sollux." She gently pulled him through the door. "We made the couch up all nice for you and I even brought out my Disney movies!" She said, trying to make him feel a little better.

Sollux sniffed, sitting down on the couch, kicking his shoes off, sticking them under the couch. "I feel horrible!" he said, taking his glasses off, shoving his face into the pillow. "Aaaaghhh..."

"What happened exactly?" Terezi said, as she sat in her chair.

"He wanth me to take care of mythelf." he said, rubbing his arms. "To eat mothtly." he rubbed his eyes, feeling another choked sob come up. "Thith ith all my fault. I fucked up bad thith time guyth."

"We can help you with stuff like that!" Nepeta smiled. "We can teach you how to cook for yourself and how to do laundry! It'll be fine!" Nepeta sat beside him on the couch, rubbing his back gently.

"Or you could just spend less time on the computer..." Terezi said. "Let's watch a movie."

Sollux resisted the urge to comment on the blind girl watching a movie, but sniffed. "Recently though I've been planning thomething really big." he said, "Ith taking a lot of time and ith really hard to do... Thath why I've been tho buthy."

"What are you planning besides the bee thing?" Nepeta asked.

"I want to take him to dithney world for thpring break." he said softly, looking at them. "I've been working on getting uth plane ticketh and park admithion."

"That's so sweet! I wish someone would do that for me!" Nepeta squealed.

Sollux sighed. "I want it to be a thurprithe... And I'm afraid that he ith going to leave me before I can take him." he felt hot tears drip down his face. "I'm thcared."

"He's not going to leave you." Terezi said. "He's petrified that you are going to leave him. He told me earlier that he wants to spend more time boxing because he thinks it will get rid of his anger issues. He's scared shitless that he'll come home to find you with some human." she crossed her arms. "Nepeta... Will you put in the one Disney movie with all the blue?"

"Little Mermaid? Okay!"

Sollux was glad that Katie had left when she did. He sighed and nodded, curling up on the couch with the bee plushy, his eyes bloodshot from crying, his whole form cold. He pulled a blanket over him, curling up as the movie started.

* * *

><p>Karkat walked down the stairs and knocked on the door to Gamzee and Tavros' apartment. Gamzee answered the door, a small smile on his face. "Hey Gam... Thanks for this..." He said as he walked in.<p>

Tavros was sitting on the couch with a blanket wrapped around him, wearing a pair of shorts. He sighed quietly, looking at the TV. He was watching a show on cats.

"Hey Tav..." Karkat mumbled. "Have you guys had dinner yet? I could cook for you all." Karkat said softly.

Tavros looked away from the screen. "No." he said, rubbing his stomach. "We haven't eaten yet." he said, shifting on the couch, reaching for his chair.

"Are you two allergic to anything?" Karkat asked. "I'll go see what you have in the fridge..."

"Cats." Tavros said quietly, looking after him, as Karkat walked into the kitchen.

"I meant food wise, silly..." Karkat smiled. Maybe this weekend wouldn't be so bad...

Tavros shrugged, trying to pull himself into his chair, but it wasn't working all that great. "Um... I don't think so." he said, his face pale. "Anything is good. I think we have pasta."

"Is that okay for dinner?" Karkat asked as he started to gather things. It felt weird actually having to search for the ingredients.

Tavros nodded. "Yeah!" he said, taking the leap from the couch to the chair and failing miserably as he fell to the ground with a thud, the wheelchair falling over in the process. "Owww!"

"Tav! I told you to tell me before you do that! You know you fall every time." Gamzee went over and picked Tavros up along with the wheelchair. "Please stop trying to do things completely on your own. You know I'm here to help!"

Tavros frowned, assessing his own damage. "Ow." he sniffed, rubbing his eyes. "When will I get my legs..." he pouted. "This... This just isn't fair!"

"I know. But you just need to wait a little longer. The doctor said that they would be here in two weeks and then you would have a 2 month recovery period after that." Gamzee said, stroking Tavros' hair. "And no matter how long it takes, I'm here. I'll always be here."

Karkat stood in the kitchen, completely frozen. Why was it that everyone else had it so easy with their matesprit but Sollux wouldn't even attempt to take care of himself?

Tavros nodded, pouting. He looked into the kitchen once getting settled.

Karkat tried to keep the tears from falling but he just couldn't.

Tavros wheeled himself into the kitchen, looking up at Karkat. "Hey... Hey no no don't cry!" he frowned, reaching his arms up. "Karkat!"

Karkat looked down at him. "I'm sorry Tav... I just... I'm the worst matesprit in the world... He deserves better than me..." He leaned down, hugging Tavros tightly. "I don't deserve him..."

Gamzee walked over, putting his hand on Karkat's shoulder. "You can't help the way you are. He knows that and he loves you. Isn't that right Tav?"

"Yeah!" Tavros grinned, hugging Karkat tightly. "You can't help how you are. You can't help that he doesn't always want to be the one who takes care of himself. He has to learn... Just like me." he smiled, "I have to readjust to everything and Gamzee is helping me."

"Exactly." Gamzee smiled at Tavros. "You just need to give him a little time. This is the first time he actually has to learn to take care of himself."

"Yeah!" he smiled. "It will be okay Karkat. Trust us. Just let him learn. Gamzee can help you understand what it's like to have to take care of someone all the time. I can't do anything on my own right now. Until I get my new legs I'm pretty much reliant on Gamzee to care for me however I need it."

"And I'm okay with that." Gamzee smiled. "Just remember that he needs you to survive. He won't ever admit that because that's how he is but he needs you. He may take advantage of your love for him but he knows that you do the things you do because you love him."

Karkat looked up. "I hope so..."

Tavros smiled. "We know so!" he said, grinning. "Trust us!"

Karkat smiled softly, pulling away from Tavros. "Thanks guys. I'll start on dinner now..." He turned, letting the water run into the pot.

* * *

><p>By the end of the movie, Sollux had finished crying and had fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion. He felt horrible for it, but he knew that Nepeta and Terezi would understand. He shifted slightly, feeling a blanket being put over him.<p>

"Good night Sollux." Nepeta whispered as she pulled the blanket over him. "We'll do something fun tomorrow!"

Sollux had spent the past 2 days working on nothing but trying to make himself a better person. He was super happy to hear that he had gotten his package in the mail. He went into his apartment after moving his things from Nepeta and Terezi's apartment back into his. He opened the package and pulled out the skimpy costume. "Oh gog I hope thith workth..." he grumbled, going into the bathroom and trying it on. Oh gog... He looked at himself in the mirror and felt blood rise in his cheeks.

Karkat slept late. He had stayed up all night worrying whether or not Sollux was going to leave him. He felt something shake him.

"Karkat. Wake up. I want you out of my apartment in an hour." Gamzee smiled, his face slightly flushed.

Karkat nodded and started to gather his things into the bag. It only took him a few minutes to get everything together. He heard the sighs of relief as he left.

Sollux sighed, trying to get ready for Karkat to come back. He sighed quietly, his hands smoothing down the bottom part of the costume. "Gog thith ith embarrathing." he muttered.

Karkat got his keys from his bag, slowly opening the door. He was still really tired, having only slept for a couple hours before Gamzee had woken him up. "Sol... Are you here yet?"

Sollux heard Karkat's voice and donned the headband before peeking out from behind the bedroom door. "I'm here, KK..." he said quietly, his voice soft.

"What's that on your head?" He asked, setting his stuff on the couch. "Why are you back there?"

Sollux walked out from behind the door, his face red. The skirt barely brushed over his thighs, exposing more skin than he really wanted to, but this was for Karkat. The wings brushed the doorway as he walked out, his hair in his face as he looked at his feet. "KK I mithed you." he said softly, his whole body shivering. "A-and I... I..."

Karkat couldn't believe the sight before his eyes. "Why are you in a bee costume? I like it but... Why?" He asked his face red.

"I... I thought it would make you happy." he frowned, his hands fumbling in front of him. "Lame pun athide, but I want you to be mine."

"I've always been yours Sollux." He smiled as he walked over to him, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist. It was times like this where he wished he was taller than Sollux.

Sollux blushed and wrapped his arms around him. "Tho..." he whispered. "I'm yourth for tonight." he said, blushing darkly.

"Oh really?" Karkat smirked. "Well... This will be an interesting day." He grinned before leaning up and kissing Sollux.

Sollux kissed him back gently, his arms wrapping around him. Did he want it?

Karkat moved his hands up Sollux's back. Trying to copy what Sollux had done to him. "I think you can lose the wings now..." He whispered.

Sollux nodded, swallowing as he slipped them off his back. "Okay." he said, biting his lip. Why was he nervous? He trusted Karkat more than anything.

Karkat kissed Sollux's neck gently. "Bedroom." He whispered, letting his breath run over the flesh.

Sollux felt a shiver and nodded, going into the bedroom, hopping onto the bed.

Karkat stepped up to him, standing in between Sollux's legs. This feeling of power rushing through him. He liked this. Karkat smirked as he leaned down, kissing Sollux's neck as his fingers slipped under the skirt. He gently ran his fingers over Sollux's thighs.

Sollux let out a noise that couldn't be described. His skin reacted, leaving goosebumps over the flesh as Karkat's fingers trailed over them.

Karkat grinned. "Does that feel good?" He asked, nibbling at Sollux's neck as his fingers ventured higher up Sollux's thighs. "You're not wearing anything under this..." He cooed.

Sollux blushed. "It came with a... Thing and uh..." he blushed even darker. "It wouldn't fit." he tilted his head back.

Karkat nodded as he stroked Sollux's growing erections. He started to nibble on the lobe of Sollux's ear, feeling himself become hard.

Sollux let out a feeble whimper. "KK..." he whispered, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Yes?" Karkat paused on the nibbling but not with the stroking.

"I want you to do it." he said softly, looking at him. "I want you to do it for me." he blinked at him. "Make me the girl."


	13. Chapter 13

Karkat smirked at hearing this. "If that's what you want." He pulled away a little more. "Get the lube." He smirked, letting go of Sollux.

Sollux scrambled up the bed, getting into the side drawer, getting out the lube and a condom just in case. He tossed it back down the bed, crawling back, getting back in his same spot.

"I want you to put it on my fingers..." Karkat whispered, holding out his hand.

Sollux opened the bottle, pouring some on his hand, his arms shaking slightly. "t-Thorry." he said, closing the bottle.

"You're okay." Karkat brought his other hand up to cup Sollux's face.

Sollux whimpered, sitting back, looking at him. "KK..." he breathed, his eyes half shut.

"Relax Sollux." He rubbed his finger against the entrance gently before actually pushing the finger in a little.

Sollux cried out, gripping the sheets, his whole form tightening. "A-Aah! KK!"

"Relax, Sol." He whispered, kissing Sollux's neck again. "You're fine." He said against the sensitive flesh.

Sollux relaxed, reaching up to hold onto Karkat tightly. "Juth pleath be careful."

"I will." Karkat said. He slowly pushed the finger in further, letting Sollux get used to it before moving.

Sollux cried out. "KK!" he gasped. This was brand new to him. Everything... Every touch, every breath... He felt so alive. "KK please..." he begged, shifting.

"What do you want Sol?" Karkat smirked. "I won't know unless you tell me."

"M-More." he whispered. "Jutth more."

Karkat nodded as he started to slip another finger into Sollux.

Sollux gasped. The pain and pleasure mixed, creating something amazing. He blushed and moaned, letting his head fall back against the bed.

Karkat whimpered softly as his pants became tight. He tried to concentrate on gently preparing Sollux. "How about this be kismesis pailing?" He suggested, a wide grin on his face.

"You said you wanted to fill that quadrant..."

Sollux looked up at him. Kismesis were usually rough with one another. "Thath fine." he said, looking at him. He knew that Karkat would be kind with him... At least in his mind. He wet his lips and stared at him, anticipating something.

Karkat moves his fingers a little faster. "How about you help me get these fucking clothes off?"

Sollux nodded, his hands fumbling. He didn't want to move. He used his powers to carefully pull back the button on Karkat's pants, making them come off. He shifted his hips, moaning at the reaction of his body.

Karkat pushed his fingers a little further before slipping them out of Sollux, as gently as possible. "You should probably put some lube on this too."

Sollux nodded, dumping more lube onto Karkat, his hands shaking. "F-Fuck..." he dripped a bunch on the floor. "I'm nervouth..." he said, biting his lip.

"Sollux. Calm down. I promise. It doesn't hurt that bad." He smirked. "No need to be nervous." He cupped Sollux's face, tilting his head up and laying a soft kiss on his lips before moaning as Sollux hit a sensitive spot.

Sollux used his hands to coat Karkat gently. He kissed him back, looking up at him. "I'm jutht..." he gently nibbled Karkat's lower lip. "I love you."

"I love you too Sol. I think we're good now." He smirked, pulling Sollux's hands away from him. "Lay back a little more." He whispered as he situated himself.

Sollux nodded. He propped his head up on a pillow, looking up at him, his eyes wide. "Nnn..."

Karkat gently pushed into him. It was so hot inside. "Sol..." He whimpered, letting Sollux become adjusted.

Sollux gasped, grabbing onto Karkat's shoulders, closing his eyes tightly as he breathed in and out, trying to imagine the pain going away.

"You okay?" Karkat asked, knowing how bad Sollux is with pain. "We can stop if it hurts that bad..."

"No... I'm fine." he said. He WOULD push through this he told himself, curling his toes. It hurt, but it wasn't unbearable. "I'm fine."

"I'm going to shift now." He warned. "Feel free to dig your nails into my shoulders."

Sollux nodded, his hands tightening around his shoulders. He nodded, looking at Karkat with big eyes. "I'm ready."

Karkat shifted his hips back slowly before moving them forward again. The tightness and heat of Sollux felt amazing against him.

Sollux dug his nails in, his mouth opening in a silent moan. The friction and the stretching hurt, but he didn't care. He pushed up into the pain against Karkat, gasping as his whole body tingled, pleasure spreading though his veins. "A-a-Aah"

Karkat kept this pace up and would until Sollux told him to do otherwise.

Sollux moaned and panted, looking up at him. "F-Fathter..." he begged, his hips rising

Karkat brought his hips forward, bringing them back faster and repeating this motion. "Aaahn!" He whimpered. He actually liked the feeling of Sollux's nails in his shoulder as he rammed his hips into his.

Sollux cried out, panting hard. Everything felt so good. He panted and moaned, his voice cracking as he cried out. He dug his nails and scraped them across Karkat's shoulder blades.

"Sol." Karkat arched his back into the nails, thrusting deeper as the pleasure skyrocketed.

"Karkat!" Sollux cried out, his eyes shutting tightly, his body being rocked with pleasure with every thrust. He felt his body give way and he released onto his stomach and chest, feeling his body tighten around Karkat's hot heat. "F-fuck..." Sollux moaned, his voice soft and his breath quickened.

"Oh gog!' Karkat cried out, releasing into Sollux. "Aha..."

Sollux panted hard, his eyes closed, his arms flopping down at his sides, his chest rising and falling gently.

Karkat gently pulled out of Sollux before curling up beside him. He was extremely happy and thoroughly exhausted.

Sollux rolled over, curling up next to him, shoving his face against his chest. "Nnnnnnn" he hummed quietly, looking at him. "Nnnn..."

"By the way. I like this look on you." Karkat smiled, playing with the skirt of the costume.

"KK..." he breathed, his face flushed pink. "Nnn..." he curled up. "I'm going to have problemth walking tomorrow." he said quietly, attempting to take the costume off.

"A little." Karkat smirked. "You'll be fine though. Be happy you don't have gym."

Sollux nodded. "True." he said, gently shifting, feeling ripples of stinging pain through his body. "Nn..." he muttered. "Shower?" he asked.

"That sounds nice." Karkat smiled, sitting up.

Sollux practically crawled to the bathroom, forgetting about half way there he actually didn't have to move at all. Instead he lifted himself using his powers and put himself into the bathtub. "Guh..." he turned on the hot water, letting it run over himself.

"Nice." Karkat laughed when he watched Sollux lift himself with his powers. "You're adorable. Now move over so I can get in too."

Sollux scooted a little bit to the side, sitting directly under the pouring warm water.

Karkat stepped in, sitting between Sollux's legs and leaning against him. "This is nice."

Sollux smiled. "Ithn't it though?" he hummed quietly, relaxing in the water.

A few days later, Karkat hurried home. He knew that Sollux wouldn't mess with the package that had come in for him but he was still anxious to get everything ready for the next day. It was the night before Valentine's Day and Karkat was nervous about giving Sollux his present. He had decided that he wouldn't even mention that it was Valentine's Day. It's not like Sollux knew what it was. He smiled, seeing the big box unopened. "I'll be back and then we can shower!" He grabbed the box and ran downstairs to the apartment of GamTav.

Sollux nodded, watching him run out. He sighed, laying down on the couch. He had gotten Karkat a little something himself that was hidden away in their closet in a bag. It was something small, but he thought it was cute.

Karkat knocked on the door. Gamzee answered with a smile. "I need to borrow your living room for a few minutes so I can wrap this!"

Tavros was laying on the couch again, watching TV. "Ooh what's that?" he asked, smiling.

"My Valentine's Day present for Sollux. It's bee themed!" Karkat giggled. "I hope he'll like it!"

"That reminds me... It's tomorrow right?" Gamzee asked. "I need to wrap what I got Tav." He smiled.

Tavros giggled. "Oh he will love it." he then turned and looked at Gamzee. "Huh? Oh man I forgot..." he bit his lip. "Gamzee I'm so sorry I forgot to get you something"

"It's fine. As long as you like what I got you, I'm good." He leaned down, kissing Tavros' cheek gently.

Tavros smiled and leaned against him. "Thank you, Gamzee." he said quietly. He looked over at Karkat. "I take it things are better between you two?" he smiled, reaching up for Gamzee.

Karkat giggled as he nodded. "He was actually up before me yesterday. It was cute."

"Awwww." he smiled. "That's adorable!"

"It was weird when I woke up and he wasn't in bed but when I went into the kitchen, he was there with a full pot of coffee and the most adorable half asleep look on his face." Karkat smiled.

"That is... So cute." Tavros said, feeling a little twinge of sadness in his chest. He bit his lip, looking at him. "I'm so happy!" he looked on the edge of tears. "I'm so happy for you"

"Don't cry Tav!" Karkat and Gamzee said at the same time before bursting into laughter. "Thanks." Karkat smiled at him. "I'm going to wrap this up. Will you help me Tav?"

Tavros nodded. "Yeah!" he said, wiping his eyes, a smile now on his face. "Yeah." he reached up for Gamzee. "Put me on the floor." he said, "by Karkat."

Gamzee nodded, wrapping his arms around Tavros' waist. "You're so cute." Gamzee kissed his cheek before he sat him down.

Tavros helped Karkat wrap the giant blanket and bee pillow. "Do you think he'll like these?" Karkat asked, feeling insecure. "I mean, he doesn't even know what Valentine's Day is... I guess I'll tell him that it's a just because I felt like it thing.."

"Yeah." he said. "He'll love it. Sollux likes anything bees you know?" he grinned. "It's how I like fidospawn... Or rather..." he looked at Gamzee "Pokémon."

"I know. And I'm not giving it to you until tomorrow." Gamzee smiled. He was actually planning on giving it to him at 12:01 that evening.

Karkat smiled, he knew Gamzee's plan and had considered doing the same with Sollux but decided to wait until after school so they could enjoy cuddling with it.

Tavros smiled and helped him put the bow on it. "Yay!" he said, looking at the wrapped present. "He'll love it!"

Karkat smiled. "Okay. Thanks you guys! I've got to go shower and then cook dinner so I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

Tavros nodded, leaning back on Gamzee. "Yeah!" he exclaimed, smiling brightly.

Sollux looked up at the ceiling. The present was already wrapped and put away in the closet. He sighed softly and waited.

* * *

><p>Gamzee smiled, sitting with his legs on either side of Tavros. "You excited for tomorrow?" He asked.<p>

Tavros nodded. "Of course." he leaned against him, sighing. "I''m really ready." he said, holding onto his hands.

Gamzee looked over at the clock, they had been cuddling on the couch for about 3 hours. 12:01. "I'll be right back, okay Tav?" He smiled.

Tavros nodded, looking after him as he walked into a room he couldn't see into.

Gamzee grabbed the bag with the Pikachu bag inside. His face held a wide grin as he walked out of the room. "Happy Valentine's day, Tav." He handed him the bag.

Tavros gasped, opening the bag to find the Pikachu inside. "W-WHA" he gasped out, looking at it. "It's so cute" he exclaimed, hugging Gamzee tightly. "T-Thank you!"

Gamzee smiled. "This is my Valentine's gift from you." He wrapped his arms around Tavros. "Don't forget, we have to have you at the hospital by 10 am for your thing." He reminded him.

Tavros nodded, and snuggled against him. "Mmmm~"

Gamzee looked down at Tavros. "Time for bed." He said as he gently lifted Tavros off the couch and carried him to their room.

Tavros smiled, curling up with Gamzee. "Thank you." he said, rubbing his eyes as he lay down.

Gamzee kissed Tavros' forehead before falling into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

><p>Karkat ran up the stairs, giant blanket and bag in hand. He was thankful that Tav had helped him with wrapping them.<p>

Sollux heard someone coming up the stairs and sat up, looking out at the door.

Karkat smiled as the door opened. "No peeking!" He said as he walked into the apartment and set the stuff down by his dresser.

Sollux nodded, covering his face with his hands.

"You can open it tomorrow after school. I'm skipping practice." Karkat smiled, pulling Sollux's hands from his face. "Now. Let's go shower."

Sollux nodded, smiling a little bit as he got up, following Karkat into the bathroom.

They showered quickly. Karkat fixed dinner while sneaking peeks at Sollux as he worked on a paper for his programming class. Once the food was done, he plated it and walked quietly over to the computer, setting the plate in front of Sollux. "Dinner." He whispered.

Sollux smiled, starting to eat. "Thank you." he said, smiling.

Karkat smiled. "How's the programming paper coming?" He asked between mouthfuls.

Sollux mumbled something about it almost being done as he shoved food in his mouth. "Mmm~" he hummed.

Karkat smiled, happy that Sollux wasn't fighting him anymore about taking care of himself. Maybe his staying with Gamzee and Tavros had gotten through to him. "I'm going to bed. Don't come to bed too late." He stood and took his plate to the kitchen.  
>Sollux nodded, finishing the final bit of the code needed for spring break. He put it through, grinning as he got an email with plane ticket stubs, and stubs for Disney world. He grinned. This was great. He got up, turning his computer off, going into the bedroom, stripping down to his pj bottoms and crawling into bed, pulling Karkat close, kissing his head. "Mmmm~"<p>

"That was fast." Karkat smirked, snuggling into him. He was glad that his first actual Valentine's Day was starting with cuddling.

"Yeah." he said, pulling him close. "I jutht finished my big project." he grinned. "I'm tho happy."

"That's good. I'm sleepy. Play with my hair?" Karkat asked softly, suppressing a yawn.

Sollux nodded, gently running his fingers through his hair, smiling. "Mmmm. I'm thleepy too." he said quietly. "Ath if you couldn't tell."

Karkat fell into a deep sleep. Finally morning came about and Karkat woke to find himself alone in the bed. "I'm not so sure that I like him being up before me." He yawned as he made his way to the kitchen.

Sollux sat at the table, his hair messy, his face leaning over a hot cup of coffee, his eyes drooped shut. "Nnnn..."

"Morning." Karkat smiled sleepily, the commandeered pajama bottoms dragging against the floor as he shuffled closer to the table. "How did you sleep?"

"Okay." he said, rubbing his eyes. "Had a bad dream and I got up about 3 am..." he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I couldn't fall back athleep."

"Have you been out here all this time?" Karkat asked, gently rubbing Sollux's shoulders.

He nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Yeah..." his voice was slightly hoarse, but not horrible.

"Ah... Sollux." He whispered. "What did you dream? If you don't mind telling me."

"I don't even remember now." he said, frowning. "I tried puthing it from my mind."

"Okay. Well, don't forget you have your history test today." Karkat kissed Sollux's cheek before moving to start on breakfast.

Sollux let his head hit the table. "Fuck..." he grumbled. "Ugh..."

"You forgot didn't you?" Karkat smirked as he got the toast from the toaster. "Do you want honey and butter on this or just honey?"

"Both..." he mumbled, his face pressing into the table.

Karkat spread some butter on the two pieces of toast for Sollux and then drizzled some honey on them. "Here." He sat the plate in front of Sollux.

Sollux looked up and picked up the food before eating, sipping his coffee. "I'm going to fail thith tetht."

"Why do you think that?" Karkat asked, sitting beside him as he nibbled on his own toast. "You're really smart!"

"I'll try." he said softly, letting out a sigh as he sipped the coffee. "Thith ith probably really bad for me." he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not that bad for you. I keep it in the apartment don't I?" Karkat smiled at him. He couldn't wait until tonight to give Sollux his present. "I think you'll do fine on the test besides you have study hall before then so that gives you an entire hour to study beforehand." He placed his hand on Sollux' s. "Stop worrying."

"I know, I know." he sighed, sipping the rest of his coffee. "It just sucks." he said quietly, rubbing his eyes.

"You'll do fine." Karkat assured him with a squeeze of the hand. "I'm going to go get dressed." He stood and walked toward their room.

Sollux nodded, cleaning up the mess in the kitchen before heading into the bedroom, pulling on clothes. He pulled on a yellow long sleeved shirt and then pulled on his black and yellow Gemini shirt, pulling on black pants. "Well don't I look thocial." he said, laughing a little, looking over at Karkat.

"You look like you. AKA my adorable, dorky boyfriend," He smiled as he pulled on a blood red shirt. "Why do I have so much red shit? I hate the color red..." He mumbled.

"You thhould love it." Sollux said, walking over to him, pulling him close. "You know why?" he asked.

"Why?" Karkat asked. He hated it because of what it had made him. "Why would I like that color?"

"Becauth ith you." he said, smiling. "We all bleed red now. The catht thythem ith gone."

"Still. It's hard to suddenly be okay with something that you were told is evil your entire life. I hate red and I know that everyone bleeds red but there..." He stopped. There was still something wrong with his blood. There had always been something wrong with it.

Sollux looked at him, sighing softly. He reached for his face, touching his cheek before pulling him into a kiss. "Hey..." he whispered after he pulled back. "It will be okay."

Karkat nodded. He only had ever thought red was nice when it came to Sollux, he loved Sollux's eyes. "You're the only exception to that..." He whispered, burying his face in the taller boy's chest.

"Thankth." he said softly, blinking his blue eye and his red eye at him. "I'm thurprithed I haven't gotten made fun of for my eyeth yet."

"I don't think anyone has actually looked at them, which is fine with me." Karkat smirked. "I don't want everyone hitting on you because of how sexy you are."

Sollux laughed. "Thexy?" he laughed. "You're thilly." he kissed him gently, his face pink.

"I think you're sexy." Karkat pouted a little. "I'm not silly."

"You are too." he said quietly, smiling at him. "But that's okay."

"How am I silly? I am stating a fact here." Karkat smiled, leaning against the other. "We need to finish getting ready."

"I know." he said, smiling. "I'm... Almotht glad I don't have my horns anymore." he said, rubbing where they would have been. "Ith much eathier to get a thirt on. I bet AT ith really glad."

"It feels weird sometimes. I kinda miss you rubbing them when my head hurt..." Karkat admitted.

Sollux smiled. "Thame." he replied, yawning big. "Come on. Leth go to freaking thcool."

"I'm sleeping on you on the bus and you can do nothing to stop me." Karkat sighed as he pulled on his socks.

Sollux shrugged. "Fine by me." he said, going into the bathroom to fix his hair.

Karkat peeked into the bathroom, looking in the mirror. "Hand me the brush?"

Sollux handed it to him, rubbing his eyes. "Nnn..." he brushed his teeth, really missing his fangs. Even though his tongue was bifurcated, and his teeth were slightly longer in the canines than everyone else's' he didn't care. He still had that damn lisp. He sighed, spitting into the sink, sticking his tongue out.

"Are you trying to tease me?" Karkat smirked, feeling playful. "You know how much I love your tongue." He moved his hand up under Sollux's shirt.

Sollux shivered. "Oi..." he said, turning to face him, biting his lip. "Don't do that." he frowned a little, feeing Karkat's hand move higher. "A-Ahhh..."

He licked his lips, trying to be seductive. "Do what?" He replied softly. "It's not like I'm doing anything pervy."

"Lieth." he said softly, looking at him. "You want to theduche me before clath... I don't think we have time, but a kith would be nice."

Karkat smiled before leaning up and kissing Sollux gently. "Let's go." He grabbed hold of Sollux's hand, gently pulling him from the bathroom.

Sollux smiled, being pulled along with him. "Mmm~" he hummed, following him closely.

"Stop staring at my ass, horndog." Karkat smirked, wiggling his backside a little.

Sollux grumbled. "I'm not thtaring at your ath." he shivered, shaking his head.

"You love me." Karkat grinned. "I know you weren't." He turned, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist. "One more kiss before we stop touching each other for 7 plus hours?"

"Yeah." he said, smiling, leaning in kissing him gently.

Karkat smiled into the kiss. It ended all too soon, as did every other morning kiss. He grabbed his backpack off the floor and opened the door. The day went horrifyingly slow. He wanted to get home so he could give Sollux his present and then cuddle with him.

* * *

><p>Tavros rubbed his eyes. He didn't want to be at the doctor this early. He didn't want to even be up that early.<p>

Gamzee yawned as they sat in the waiting room for Tavros to be called. "You okay Tav?"

"Sleepy.' he said, rubbing his eyes. "I want to sleep some more." he admitted.

"Me too. But at least after this we can go home and cuddle for the rest of the day." Gamzee smiled.

"Very true." he said, smiling.

"I'm glad you like your present." Gamzee said, looking at the Pikachu bag attached to the back of Tavros' wheelchair.

Tavros grinned. "Of course I like it." he said, grinning widely. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know." Gamzee smirked.

"Tavros?" The nurse called. Gamzee stood, walking behind the wheelchair and pushing it toward the door.

Tavros smiled a little as he was wheeled into the doctor's office, where he saw his new legs waiting for him.

Gamzee smiled as he pushed the wheelchair down the hall. He was excited to see how Tavros would actually react to having new legs.

When they got into the office, Tavros smiled, being helped onto the table where he was fitted for his legs. They helped him understand how they would be attached. He was helped to his new feet, given a pair of crutches. He looked over at Gamzee with a huge smile on his face.

Gamzee sat in his chair, holding his arms out. They had been practicing and Tavros as already getting really good with walking. "Come here Tav." He smiled.

Tavros used his crutches and slowly walked over, getting used to the way the legs were feeling. He walked over, standing in front of Gamzee, smiling.

"Motherfucking miracle Bro." Gamzee's smile widened as he reached his arms around Tavros' waist. "Motherfucking miracle."

Tavros giggled. "Hey Gamzee?" he said, smiling. "Can you go get me some lunch? I'm gonna walk around some more." he smiled, shifting a little.

"Yeah. What do you want?" Gamzee asked.

"Mmm... I don't know surprise me." he smiled and walked back across the room.

"Okay. I'll be back soon." He smiled as he left.

Tavros smiled, watching him go. "I'm so happy!" he said, smiling. "I'm so happy that I can walk!"

The nurse smiled softly. "You have a great friend there. He is really supportive." She stated.

"Gamzee is an amazing person." he smiled. "He's been there for me for as long as I can remember."

"It must be nice having such a caring friend by your side. I'm glad that he is there for you."

He walked around some more, smiling. "This feels so wonderful." he said, shifting. "I hope someday I can run..."

"You'll be able to but you will need to be extremely careful. I would have Gamzee run with you. But that's a bit off for now." She said. "Do you have any other questions?"

Tavros shook his head. He felt too embarrassed to ask THAT question, his face flushed a little pink and he shook his head a little more, going and taking a seat.

Gamzee came back a few minutes later, a Subway bag in his hand. "I got you that one sandwich that you really liked from Subway." He smiled sitting the drinks down on the bench.

He smiled, scooting down the bench some. "Can I eat now?" he asked, looking at the doctor.

She nodded. "Just clean up after yourselves. I want you to practice for at least another hour before we let you go home."

Tavros nodded, opening the bag with his sandwich. "You want half of this Gamzee?" he asked, offering one part of the sandwich.

"I ate mine on the way here." Gamzee smiled, pointing to the stain of marinara sauce on his shirt.

"Oh, haha." Tavros smiled, as he ate. He ate half the sandwich, leaving the other for later. He sipped his drink, setting it back down before getting up again.

"How ya feelin' Tav?" Gamzee asked, knowing that Tavros felt happy but still wanting to hear it.

"Awesome." he said, smiling. "I'm really trying hard!"

"You'll get it in no time!" The doctor smiled. Gamzee smiled as he watch Tavros walk around the room. 'He's walking.' Gamzee felt his heart soar knowing that Tavros was able to walk.

The next hour passed quickly. Tavros was given the crutches and the legs to take home and work with until his next appointment later that week. He was settled down in his chair, his crutches in his lap.

"Let's go on a walk tomorrow after school." Gamzee said. "If you're not too tired after school. Practicing must make you a little sleepy."

"It's exhausting, but I had fun." he smiled, looking up at Gamzee. "I love you." he said softly, his cheeks pink as they headed back to their apartment.

Gamzee's face turned pink. This was the first time that Tavros had said that magical sentence first. "I love you too Tav." He smiled. "Are you having a good Valentine's Day so far?"

"Being able to walk and having the most amazing person in my life, yes." he replied, his face darkening.

"What's wrong?" Gamzee asked, seeing the change in Tavros' expression.

He shook his head. Why was he thinking about THAT? He shook his head and pulled the blanket up on his lap. "Mm... I'm cold. I want to cuddle." he said. "Not with these though." he said, touching his new legs. "That would be uncomfortable."

Gamzee smiled. "Well, we're almost home and we can cuddle when we get there." He said, touching Tavros' shoulder.

Tavros nodded. "I'd like that a lot." he said, smiling.

Gamzee turned the wheelchair toward the apartment complex, wheeling his love to the door. "Do you want to walk inside?" He asked, holding the wheelchair steady.

Tavros nodded. "Yeah!" he said, using the crutches to stand, making sure his feet were straight. He stood up and started walking, smiling.

Gamzee walked over, opening the door for Tavros before going back to get the wheelchair. "Welcom home Tav." He smiled as he walked in the door.

Tavros smiled widely, He walked in, sitting down on the couch. "This... This is so nice." he said, smiling.

Gamzee pulled his phone from his pocket. "Smile Tav!"

Tavros smiled widely, making a peace sign.

Gamzee took the picture and sent it to the other ex-trolls. "TaV gOt HiS lEgS!"

Tavros grinned, smiling as he shifted his hips a little. He stood up again, walking into the bedroom carefully sitting down. He started the work of taking off the new legs.

Gamzee went into the bedroom. "Want to take a nap? I bet you're exhausted." He sat on the edge of the bed gently, watching as Tavros took off the legs.

Tavros nodded, rubbing his eyes. "That sounds like a good idea." he smiled, grinning. He pulled off the first one, removing the sock and letting his skin breathe. "It's all tingly." he rubbed the skin, and started on the other one.

"You'll get used to it." Gamzee gently rubbed Tavros' shoulder. "Motherfucking miracles man. You are one of them." He smiled at Tavros.

Tavros smiled, gently pulling off the other leg, setting them carefully on the floor. He scooted on the bed, laying next to Gamzee, leaning up to kiss him gently.

Gamzee wrapped his arms around Tavros. "Best Romcom Day ever."

Tavros smiled. "Yeah." he said, settling against Gamzee. "It is." He couldn't stop thinking about THAT. He shook his head, pushing his face into Gamzee's chest, snuggling down with him.

* * *

><p>Karkat smiled as he followed Sollux onto the bus. He couldn't wait to get home.<p>

Sollux smiled, holding a bag. Katie had given him a few pieces of chocolate as a good friend, and he had gotten some candy from his teachers. He sat down next to Karkat, gently holding his hand. "I hear we're going to that movie tonight." he said softly, leaning against him. "It's okay. I'll take care of you."

"Fuck. That's tonight?" Karkat pouted. "I thought it was going to be just us tonight."

"It'll be okay." he smiled. "After we get back from the movie we can have all night to ourselfth" he smiled and gently touched Karkat's thigh.

"Stop it..." Karkat mumbled, gently pushing Sollux's hand away. "That's not what I meant."

Sollux laughed. "I know.' he said, gently leaning his cheek against Karkat's face. "It'll be fine though. I promise. We have all night to be together."

Karkat nodded. "When we get home, I have something for you." He said softly.

"Ath do I." he said softly, smiling.

Karkat looked at Sollux, throughly confused. Sollux had something for him. 'It's probably just a new video game or something.' He reasoned. 'There's no way Sollux would have gotten me anything for Valentine's Day. He doesn't know what it is...'

Sollux smiled, leaning against him. "You'll love it."

Karkat blushed deep red. 'What did that mean? What was going on?'

The bus came to their stop and they got off the bus. Sollux smiled, and took Karkat's hand.

Karkat blushed but let his fingers entwine with Sollux's. "I'm nervous about the movie tonight... I hate horror movies... They give me nightmares." He sighed as they walked into the apartment. "No peeking. I'll be right back." He smiled, running back to their bedroom.

Sollux smiled, plopping down on the couch, settling next to one of the pillows.

Karkat came out of the room, a huge square thing in one arm and the giant bag in the other. "I found these online and they made me think of you." He smiled, handing them to Sollux.

Sollux blinked at the packages. "Wow..." he said, gently taking the big square one. "Thith ith making me feel a little bad about my gift." he said, biting his lip.

Karkat smiled as he watched Sollux open the present, revealing the blanket.

Sollux gasped, biting down on his lip. "O-oh wow..." he said softly, holding the soft plush blanket in his arms. "Th... Thith ith tho thweet!" he gasped out, looking at him. "Oh my gog."

"This one is better." He practically shoved the bag at Sollux. He waited anxiously as Sollux pulled out the tissue paper.

Sollux pulled out the pillow, his eyes going wide. "W-Whhh..." he bit his lip and hugged it tightly. "Oh my gog..." he said softly. "KK..." he looked up at him with big round eyes.

"I thought you would like them so I just had to buy them." He smiled. 'Happy Valentine's Day Sollux.' He said in his head.

Sollux got up, hugging Karkat tightly, trying not to cry. He sniffled, pulling away slightly as he went into the bedroom, getting the bag out of the closet, smiling a little as he brought it back. "Happy Valentineth day KK."

Karkat's eyes went wide. "Valentine's Day... You knew?" He felt the tears begin to form in his eyes. "Sollux... I..." He didn't know what to say.

Sollux smiled. "Yeah. My friend told me a few thingth tho I could be a little more... Romcom like." he scratched the back of his head.

Karkat looked up at him. "Sol... Why do you want to be more romcom like? You hate them..." Karkat was confused. Why had Sollux done this for him? He was still having trouble believing that Sollux had gotten him something for a romcom holiday...

"Becauth I love you and you love romcomth." he smiled.

Karkat sniffled a little, taking the bag and opening it with care. "Sollux! This is so cute!" He pulled the blue crab plushy from the bag. "I love it! Thank you." He looked up at him, tears threatening to break free.

Sollux couldn't help but laugh a little bit. He hugged Karkat tightly, "Hey..." he whispered, hugging him close. "Tho cute." he said quietly, kissing his face. "Until Jameth geth here letth cuddle. Yeah?"

Karkat nodded, burying his face in Sollux's shirt before the tears began to stream down his cheeks. "I love you Sol."

"I love you too." he said quietly, gently pulling himself, Karkat, the blanket, the pillow and the stuffed crab into the bedroom, gently putting them both down on the bed with his powers. He smiled, pulling the blanket over both of them

He was so happy. Karkat couldn't help but think that he had the best matesprit in the world. He pulled one of his arms from around Sollux's waist, grabbing his hand and twining their fingers together.

Sollux smiled, snuggling down in the blanket.

Karkat fought to stay awake but he was just so comfortable and happy with Sollux being there that it just happened.

James knocked on the door to the apartment of Sollux and Karkat. "You guys? Are you here?"

Sollux had fallen asleep, curled up in his new blanket, his head resting on his new pillow. He didn't hear the knock at the door, and the door had been forgotten to be locked.

James put his hand on the doorknob, shaking it gently. "Seriously guys? Leaving the door unlocked." He shook his head as he walked into the apartment. "Sollux? Karkat? You here?"

Sollux let out a soft snore, shifting in the blanket slightly.

The apartment was clean save for the bags on the ground and shredded wrapping paper on the couch. The bedroom door was open and soft snoring was coming from inside.

James walked back into the bedroom. He paused at the door, seeing Sollux wrapped up in a blanket with bees all over it. He could just barely make out where Karkat was in the pile. He smirked, taking a deep breath before yelling. "WAKE UP YOU SHITHEADS!"

Karkat jolted upright, the blanket falling around his shoulders. "What?" He asked, looking around. "Oh... Hey James..." He yawned as he scratched the back of his head.

Sollux jolted awake, his powers flaring. "What the fuck!" he shouted, sitting upright, his glasses on the bed behind him. His eyes narrowed. "Who the..." he grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Calm down fuckass. It's James." Karkat said, letting himself fall back onto the bed. "I guess we have to go watch the horror movie now..." He sighed rolling out from under the covers.

Sollux grumbled, blinking his two colored eyes at James, before reaching for his glasses, grumbling as he shuffled towards the bathroom to fix his hair and wash his face.

Karkat stayed on the bed rubbing his eyes.

James looked at him, wide-eyed. "You two are dating... Aren't you?" He stuttered.

Sollux couldn't help but snort a little bit, making a gurgling noise as he rinced his face with cold water. "Took you long enough."

Karkat nodded. "It really did." He stood walking over to Sollux. "I'm getting your wallet from your backpack." He put his hand on his back. "By the way. You better get me a pretzel."

"Why?" Sollux said, looking back at him, frowning. He sighed and watched as he left. He looked at himself in the mirror, frowning. "Guh." he peered closer looking at his eyes. They looked a little redder and a little bluer. He pushed his glasses on after cleaning them, shaking his head. "What a methh."

"Because if I don't get it now, then you'll forget it." Karkat smirked as he dug around in Sollux's backpack. He pulled out a couple of papers. "Hey Sol, what are these?" he looked at them.

James stood in the room with them. He had thought the rumors to be lies. How had he missed this?

Sollux froze. "Thit! Nothing!" he called, rushing into the other room, nearly tripping over something as he grabbed at the papers. "Nothing. Nothing. Nothing."

"If it's nothing then why are you freaking out about it?" Karkat asked, shifting slightly so Sollux couldn't get to the papers. "Why is one of them from American Airlines?"

"Gaaaah KK, theriouthly. Ith nothing!" he said, grumbling as he grabbed for the papers again. "Jutht give them here!"

"Tell me what they are for, Captor!" Karkat shifted again. "Why do you have stuff from American Airlines? Where are you planning on going?" He yelled. He felt like he was being left behind.

Sollux grumbled. "Way to ruin the thurprithe." he said quietly, looking at James. "I'm taking both of uth to Dithney World for thrpring break."

Karkat's eyes widened. "Disney World?" He smiled. "Sollux!" He shifted, tackling Sollux, kissing his cheek. "Best surprise ever!"

Sollux clung to him, holding him close. "Yeah. I wanted to thruprithe you after today, but I gueth you broke that huh." he joked, rubbing the back of his head.

Karkat pouted. "You know you love me." He smiled.

James sighed loudly, seeing as the couple had forgotten that they had a guest.

Sollux made a face, poking his bifurcated tongue out. "Come on." he said, pushing Karkat away before grabbing his bag and his blue and red jacket. "I'm cold." he said, pulling it on.

Karkat pulled on his jacket, sighing. "Let's get this over with..." He said. "I can't believe that you two asshats are going to make me watch a horror movie."

"You'll be fine." he said softly, gently grabbing his hand. "You'll live."

"Yeah... With nightmares for the next who knows how long." Karkat pouted.

James looked at them. "You two are adorable. Are you really that scared Karkat?"

Sollux looked at him. "Heth that afraid." he replied, shaking his head. "I told him I'd be like... Right there."

"That's not the problem." Karkat mumbled.

"Then what's the matter KK?" James asked.

Sollux turned and looked at James, giving him a sharp look. "You'll be fine, KK."

Karkat gave James a confused look. He didn't like that James was using Sollux's nickname for him. It didn't feel right.

James took the hint from Sollux's eyes. "Sorry. It just seemed to fit..."

"Letth get going." he said softly. He smiled a little bit. "Leth go because I want food I'm thtarving."

"I want a pretzel." Karkat stated. "And chocolate covered raisins. We should get ice cream after the movie! How about it Sol?" Karkar smiled at him.

It was in that moment, the moment he saw Karkat smile, that James knew he was in love. He knew that Karkat belonged to another and didn't care. He stared at him for a moment before he saw Sollux watching him.

Sollux sighed and nodded. "Yeah." he said softly, shifting. "I'll get you what you want. I just want real food." he said, frowning. "I want honey."

Karkat nodded, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist. "Thanks Sol!" He smiled. "It's a good thing that I made honey cookies a few days ago."

James shifted his gaze away from the pair as they walked into the theatre. He was the third wheel on their Valentine's Day date... His chest hurt as he heard Karkat call Sollux's name over and over again.

Sollux sighed, nodding as he purchased the tickets, getting a strange look from the lady behind the counter. He went and got some food, settling on chicken tenders with honey sauce instead of anything else. He sipped his drink gently, handing the ticket lady their tickets before taking their place in the theatre.

Karkat nibbled on his pretzel as he sat down. He wasn't excited about the movie but minus James' presence, this was their first actual date. Ever.

James was behind Karkat as they moved into the theatre. He went to sit down in the seat beside Karkat before Sollux, somehow gracefully, swirved around him and claimed the seat.

Sollux sighed, sitting down on the other side of Karkat, looking over at him.

Katie walked into the theatre. Her friends had said this was a good movie and she didn't feel like watching something romantic. She looked around the theatre before noticing Sollux. "Sollux? What are you guys doing here?" She asked after walking over to them.

Karkat looked up at the girl. 'Who the hell is this and why is she talking to Captor?'

Sollux gently tightened his grip around Karkat's hand, sending him a sort of reassurance. "I'm here with KK." he said softly, nodding his head towards Karkat.

"Oh. Hi Karkat! I'm Katie! I'm in one of Sollux's classes." She smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you. He talks about you a lot."

Karkat looked between the two of them. "I'm Karkat. It's nice to meet you Katie." He tried to smile but something was off with this girl.

James simply waved. "Hey Katie!"

Sollux sighed, leaning against KK, gently whispering softly "Thith ith a little awkward."

"A little?" Karkat mumbled, rolling his eyes and facing the screen as the theatre went dark.


	14. Chapter 14

Through the beginning of the movie, Sollux sat with his hand gently resting against Karkat's thigh, letting him use his chest if he needed to be held for some reason through the movie. So far nothing had been really all that scary. Some intense parts, but nothing scary.

Karkat sat with his eyes wide. This was one of the scariest movies he had ever seen in his life and it wasn't even over yet. Something jumped at the camera. Karkat screamed, wrapping his arms around Sollux's and burying his face in his shoulder.

Katie jumped slightly, her hand accidentally landing on Sollux's. She had never realized how much bigger his hands were than hers.

Sollux flinched a little at Karkat's sudden actions, but wrapped his arms around him tightly, shooshing his hair. "Hey..." he whispered. "Ith jutht a movie." he kissed the top of his head.

Karkat shivered against him. This was part of the reason he hated horror movies. He shook his head. "No... I'll be having nightmares for at least a week..." He mumbled into Sollux's shoulder.

"Thhh..." he calmed, frowning. "If you need to thtep out you can." he said, frowning. "You can tektht me and I'll come to you if you need me to..."

"Are you sure?" Karkat asked. "I know that you wanted to see this..." He whispered.

"I'm fine." he said, smiling. "If I have to I'll come to you." he said quietly, kissing the top of his head. "Go on. Tektht me if you want me to come out."

Karkat nodded, kissing Sollux's shoulder before leaving to go out to the lobby. He hated the fact that he was so scared that he couldn't sit through the movie date with his boyfriend. He sat on a bench for a few minutes, before feeling lonely. "SOL... I'M LONELY... COME TO ME?" He sent the text feeling like a needy newborn grub.

Sollux checked his phone, seeing the message. He turned to Katie and said "Thorry, KK needth me"' he said softly. He turned to James. "I'll be back." he got up and walked out of the theatre.

A couple girls came up to Karkat, obviously flirting with him. "You're cute. Why don't you come with us?" Karkat looked up at them.

"I'm on a date so leave me alone."

"Then why are you out here?" One of the girls asked.

"Because I'm not feeling that well. I came out here to get some air."

"I bet he doesn't even have a girlfriend. I think you came here alone."

"Well, you got one thing right. I don't have a girlfriend. I have a boyfriend and he is amazing. Now that the fact that I'm happily taken has been established, leave me alone." Karkat glared at them before seeing Sollux come out of the theatre. "Sol!" He waved.

Sollux waved weakly, walking over to him. He frowned. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Karkat nodded, glad that those stupid human girls had finally left. "I'm sorry... I just wanted to say that... I know that you were really excited about seeing this movie and I'm ruining it for you..." He put his head down on his knees. "I'm sorry Sol."

"You're not ruining anything." he said softly, petting his hair. "You're fine." he said. "Bethideth. ith not that good of a movie. Itth really fake." he frowned. "I'm happy with you jutht being here."

"Wanna ditch and go get ice cream?" Karkat asked quietly.

"We thouldn't leave them by themthelves… We can get eyeth cream and wait for the movie to be over." he smiled a little, sighing softly.

Karkat perked up a little. "Okay." He smiled. He started to feel better as they walked to the ice cream shop.

Sollux smiled, paying for icecream for the pair. Sollux smiled and sat down, licking it gently. "Thith bringth back memorieth."

Karkat looked up at him, a smile of his face as he licked at his ice cream. "Yeah. I kinda miss Alternia..."

"Thame." he said softly, leaning back. "I thtill have pictureth on my computer of uth." he said, smiling. "Back then."

"Really? Let's look through them when we get home." Karkat put his head on Sollux's shoulder.

"Yeah." he said, smiling. He grinned and held Karkat's hand gently. He loved his matesprit more than anything.

"You want to hear something kinda funny?" Karkat asked. "Tav still has all of his fidospawn cards."

"Really?" Sollux laughed. "That game ith thilly." he said, rolling his eyes a little, his face still bright with a smile.

"Today has been amazing." Karkat smiled, snuggling up against Sollux. "Happy Valentine's Day Sol."

"It hath." he said in reply, smiling at him, leaning in for a kiss, letting it linger against his lips. "Happy Valentineth day."

Karkat gently pushed his lips against Sollux's, not caring about the people passing them.

"Hello..." James said. "Get a room you two!" He laughed as the group came out from the theatre.

"You couldn't wait until we came out to get ice cream? Assholes!" Katie smiled.

Sollux pulled back, laughing a little. "Hey."

Karkat looked away from everyone, his face bright red. "Sorry..." He whispered.

Sollux laughed. "Eyethcream ith the betht for thomeone who ith having a rough day." he smiled. "How wath the end of the movie?"

"Shitty." James said.

"It was horrible. It ended with them chopping the girl's head off." Katie cringed.

"That mean's there will probably be a sequel." James sighed.

Karkat cringed, thoughts of people being beheaded and sliced open running through his mind.

Sollux frowned. "That thuckth." he said softly, shaking his head. "Thtupid."

"Karkat... You look like you're going to get sick... Are you okay?" Katie asked.

Karkat looked up, nodding his head. "Yeah. Just ate a little too fast."

Sollux frowned. "Hey..." he rubbed his back. "Don't talk about the movie anymore. He really doethn't like thcary thingth."

Karkat looked over at Sollux. He loved and hated how Sollux just knew what was on his mind.

"Sorry Karkat. We didn't realize that they bothered you that much..." Katie said.

"Yeah... Sorry man." James nodded.

He sighed softly, and finished his ice cream before tossing the cup. He gently rubbed Karkat's back, smiling at him.

"It's fine." He said quietly. Suddenly he felt really tired. He laid his head on his knees again, trying to stay awake.

Sollux gently let him lean against him. "Hey..." he frowned. "We're gonna go home." he smiled weakly.

"Take care of him." Katie smiled, lightly hitting Sollux in the arm.

"We can stay out longer. I'm fine. Really." Karkat mumbled.

"You thure?" he asked. "I wanted to go to the fair..." he frowned.

"Fair? What fair?" Karkat asked.

"The valentineth day fair." he said softly, looking at him.

"Where's that at?" He asked softly. "When does it start?"

"Itth over by the mall." he said softly. "And it tharted about an hour ago."

"Let's go!" Karkat smiled. Surely he could stay awake a little longer.

Sollux smiled.

The four of them headed towards the mall. Once there Sollux was amazed at the large amount of carnival rides and other small attractions. He bit his lip, looking around. "Woah..."

Karkat looked around, wide-eyed. Grabbing Sollux's hand he took off. "Let's ride that!"

Sollux winced and was drug along with Karkat. "Waah!" he cried, almost falling as they stood in line for what looked to be a ride with swings.

Karkat stood there fidgeting with excitement. He loved rides, especially the swings. Soon they were let into the area and he ran toward one of the swings. "Sol! Sit here!" He said as he tried to get into the swing. He was having height issues at the moment.

Sollux walked over, sitting down, pulling the strap between his legs. "I don't know about thith KK..." he said, looking a little aprehensive.

"It'll be fun!" Karkat said, grabbing his hand. "Just don't let go okay?"

Sollux nodded, whimpering a little when the ride started. "O-Oh gog..."

Karkat grinned from ear to ear. "You okay?" He laughed as he squeezed Sollux's hand.

Sollux nodded, looking down as the ride got higher and higher. "Oh... Oh gog! Oh gog!"

"You're fine Sol! Calm down!" Karkat smiled. "This is supposed to be like flying!"

Sollux whimpered. His idea of flying was much more fun than this. He couldn't control this. He closed his eyes, letting his legs finally relax, moving slightly as he swung around, the wind blowing his hair back.

Karkat laughed a little. "You're such a dork!" Karkat laughed.

Sollux made a face. "Am not." he muttered, looking over at him.

"I like the fact that you're a dork!" Karkat pouted. "Letting go now!" He let his hand slip away from Sollux's.

Sollux felt a brief moment of panic as he felt Karkat's hand slip away. "Guaah" he looked over at him.

"It's okay. Calm down." Karkat said, the swing bringing them closer for a brief second.

Sollux breathed quietly, opening his eyes and looking over at Karkat. "I'm thorry thith ith thcary."

"Pull me over. I know you can..." He reached his arm out toward Sollux.

Sollux reached out, his face pink as he brushed his fingertips against Karkat's.

"Better?" He asked, the swings slowing down a little.

Sollux nodded, his face brightening up with a smile. "Yeah..."

Karkat smiled. "Good." The swings getting lower and lower. "Am I going to be able to get you on any ride at Disney World?"

"Maybe." he said softly, biting his lip. "I don't know if I'll feel like going on rideth." he said rubbing his stomach. "Depenth on the flight down there."

"Please?" Karkat asked, pushing his bottom lip out in an attempt to look cute.

Sollux crossed his arms. "Are you thtupid or thomething?" he asked, frowning.

Karkat pulled back. "Dick."

Sollux frowned. "Dude." he looked over at him. "Come on..."

Karkat grumbled but came closer, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist as they walked away from the swings.

Sollux smiled. "Mmm~" he kissed his head gently.

The pair went around and road a bunch more rides before calling it quits.

* * *

><p>Gamzee walked out of the shower, a towel around his waist as he headed back into the bedroom.<p>

Tavros lay in bed in just his boxers, looking up at Gamzee. "Hey." he said, smiling.

"Yeah?" Gamzee looked over at him before letting the towel drop as he gathered his clothes.

Tavros blushed. "Uh... Uh..." he felt his cheeks turn bright red. "G-gamzee…. Uh..."

"Yeah?" He stood facing Tavros. "What is it Tav?" He asked a soft smile on his lips.

Tavros couldn't form words. "Have you uh..." he bit his lip. "Uh... Uh..."

"What you thinking about Tav?" He walked over to the bed, sitting down and putting his hand on Tavros' hip.

"Uh... Uh..." he looked at him, shifting some. "Gamzee... Have you ever uh... Thought about uhhh..." he bit his lip. "Go-Going... F-f-further?"

"Yeah... Why do you ask?" He looked at Tavros, his eyes full of confusion. "Have you?"

"B-Because I uh..." he bit his lip. "W-Would really uh... Like that."

Gamzee blushed deep red. "Really?"

Tavros nodded, looking away. He felt slightly ashamed and slightly afraid. "I... I really want to Gamzee."

Gamzee shifted so his face was closer to Tavros'. "Are you sure?" He gently kissed Tavros' cheek, moving down to his neck.

Tavros gasped softly. "Y-Yeah..." he whispered, his skin feeling flushed.

Gamzee pulled away, looking Tavros in the eyes. "I love you Tav."

"I love you too." he whispered, leaning up to kiss him gently.

Gamzee ran his hands over Tavros' chest as his tongue became more adventurous.

Tavros bit his lip, looking at him. "A-Aah Gamzee that feels really good!"

Gamzee grinned, letting his hand slip lower. His fingers ran over the flesh before finally slipping into Tavros' boxers.

Tavros gasped. "G-Gamzee!" he shifted a little bit, looking at him. "G-Gaah!" he shifted about, his hands gripping at the sheets.

Gamzee stroked him gently as he moved his kisses down to his chest, letting his tongue brush against one of his nipples.

Tavros whimpered, his body reacting to the touches and feels. "A-Ahhh..." he breathed out, his eyes lulling closed.

Gamzee felt himself getting hard. He looked up at Tavros. "Good?" He asked. It was more of wanting to know if he was making his matesprit feel good than asking if Tavros was okay.

Tavros nodded. "Y-Yeah!" he gasped out, looking at him. "Gamzee..." he reached his hand out.

"Yeah Tav?" He asked, leaning down and licking around the sensitive flesh.

Tavros gasped. "G-Gamzee!" he cried out. "O-Oh my gog!"

Gamzee smirked. He began to move his hand a little faster as he switched his attention to Tavros' other nipple.

Tavros whimpered, his breath coming in short pants. "Gamzee..." he gasped, looking at him, his hands gently running his hand through his hair.

Gamzee looked up at his lover. "Are you sure?" He smirked.

"Y-Yes..." he said, looking down at him. "W-Why wouldn't I be sure?"

"I just wanted to hear you say that." He whispered. "Is there anything specific that you want to try?"

"Anything." he said, his face flushed. "I... I want to touch you." he said, his hands wandering down Gamzee's bare chest.

"Then do it." Gamzee smiled, watching Tavros' hands. He slowly started to stroke Tavros again, pressing his thumb against the slit.

Tavros gasped out, biting down on his lip as he slowly started stroking Gamzee, his hands wandering over the hot flesh.

"Tav..." He sighed. He started to stroke Tavros a little faster, encouraging him to do the same with a light thrust of his hips.

Tavros moved his hand quicker, his hands shaking a little, his breath coming faster. "Gam..." he whispered, shifting a little. "I feel close..."

Gamzee nodded, moving his hand in long, slow strokes as his thumb rubbed the head.

Tavros panted, his hand moving quickly over Gamzee. "I'm... I'm gonna..." he retracted his hands from Gamzee's body, letting out a cry as he released.

Gamzee smiled. He brought his hand up to his mouth, licking his fingers clean.

Tavros panted, looking at him. "Gamzee..." he breathed, his hands wandering over to Gamzee's length again, touching him gently.

Gamzee moaned into his hand. "Tav..." He shifted, placing one of his fingers at Tavros' entrance, rubbing it gently. "Can I?"

Tavros gasped and nodded, spreading what was there of his legs. "Be gentle." he said softly.

"Always." Gamzee moved away for a minute, getting into his drawers and pulling out a bottle of clear liquid.

Tavros watched him carefully, smiling. His cheeks were stained red.

Gamzee put some on his fingers, coating them evenly in the clear liquid. "Ready?" He asked, placing his finger back at Tavros' entrance.

Tavros nodded, resting his head back against the pillow. "Yes." he said, breathing in gently.

Gamzee rubbed the area a little first before slipping the tip of his finger inside, letting Tavros get used to the feeling before pushing it a little further. He repeated this until his entire finger was inside.

Tavros panted, his eyes shutting. It didn't hurt. It was uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt. He sighed quietly, letting out his held in breath.

"I'm going to move it now okay?" Gamzee said.

Tavros nodded. "Y-Yeah."

Gamzee slowly started to move his finger back and forth, pulling it mostly out and sliding it back it.

Tavros gasped out. "G-Gam!" he whimpered, looking at him. "T-That feels... R-really good!"

Gamzee smiled. "I'm glad." He moved his finger a little faster.

Tavros moaned softly. "G-Gamzee..." he moaned. "Oh gog..."

"I like those noises your making, Tav." Gamzee purred in Tavros' ears. "Should I do it faster?"

"Y-Yeah..." he breathed, looking at him. "P-Pleease..."

Gamzee pulled his finger out less so he could quicken its pace.

"G-gog!" he cried out, throwing his head back against the pillow.

Gamzee watched Tavros' face carefully, looking for any sign of pain or discomfort. He wanted this to be the best feeling that Tavros had ever felt.

"Gamzee... Please more..." he begged, looking at him with big brown eyes.

Gamzee nodded, slipping his finger almost all the way out before sliding the tip of a second in with the first.

"A-Aah" he gasped out, his breath coming hard. There was a small twinge of pain, but he didn't let it show in his face.

Gamzee slipped both fingers a little further in, repeating the same process as earlier.

Tavros moaned, his breath panting. "Nnnnnnn."

Gamzee felt his member start to throb with wanting. He started to move his fingers again, moving them opposite of each other.

Tavros gasped. "G-Gaah..." he panted, throwing his head back. "Guhhhhhhh... Gamzee"

"You okay?" He asked, keeping his fingers moving.

"y-Yeah." he said, smiling.

"If you want something, just let me know. Okay?"

Tavros nodded. He clenched his hands around the sheets.

Gamzee began to move the fingers further apart, stretching him more. "Tav... Can I?" He asked as he felt himself pulse with desire.

Tavros nodded, his eyes wide. He bit his lip, his hands shaking in anticipation.

Gamzee slowly pulled his fingers out before positioning himself to push in. "Wait..." He reached up on his side of the bed, grabbing one of his many pillows. Gently lifting Tavros' hips, he slipped the pillow under them. "To make it a little more comfortable..." He whispered as he got back into position. "Ready?"

Tavros nodded, gripping the sheets gently. "Y-Yeah." he said softly.

Gamzee slowly pushed in, moaning with the heat and tightness of Tavros. "Gog... Tav..."

Tavros cried out in a mix of emotion. He gripped the sheets and moaned. "G-Gog!"

"I'm going to move now..." Gamzee whispered, slowly pushing his hips forward, bringing himself further inside.

Tavros clenched his eyes shut. It was really tight. He gasped and cringed a little.

Gamzee brought his hand up, cupping Tavros' face. "Tav..."

Tavros blinked, feeling tears drip down his face. "Gamzee, I love you so much..." he breathed. blinking the tears away. "P-please don't stop."

Gamzee nodded, leaning down and kiss Tavros gently. "I love you too Tav." He whispered before bring his hips forward again.

Tavros cried out, moaning. "G-Gamzee" he gasped, gripping his lover's shoulders.

"Gog... Tav..." He moaned, thrusting into him again. How was this level of pleasure even possible?

"Gam…Gam!" he gasped out. This was, as Gamzee would have described it, a miracle.

Gamzee felt a knot start to form in his stomach. "Tav... I'm... Aaaaaaaaaaaah... Close..." He put his forehead on Tavros' shoulder. "Oh gog... Tav..."

Tavros lifted his hips with Gamzee's thrusts. He moaned loudly, gasping, crying out in sheer pleasure.

With one more thrust of his hips, Gamzee cried out, spilling into Tavros. "Aaaaaahn Tav!"

Tavros cried out, releasing against their stomachs, screaming out, his nails digging into Gamzee's shoulders.

Gamzee pushed in, moaning even louder at the sensitiviness of his body.

"Gamzee..." he moaned, panting quietly. "N-Nnnnnnn..."

He kept thrusting slowly until the tingling faded. Gently, he slid himself out of Tavros, laying beside him and wrapping him up in his arms. "You're my miracle." He whispered, kissing by Tavros' ear.

Tavros breathed quietly. "Nnnn..." he hummed. "Yeah." he said softly. "Gamzee I love you so much." he said softly.

"How does your body feel? Any pain?" He asked, nuzzling against his love.

"My back hurts a little, but I'll be fine." he said, rolling over, wrapping his arms around Gamzee. "Nnnnn."

Gamzee nodded. "Let's go to bed." He kissed Tavros' cheek. "I love you Tav."

"I love you too." he said, snuggling close to him. He closed his eyes, his breath becoming soft and gentle as he fell asleep.

Gamzee woke up the next morning to Tavros asleep in his arms. He let his memory slip into the events of the night before, smiling as he thought of Tavros' adorable reactions. His high came crashing down as his thoughts went from Tavros to the sopor slime. "Not now... Please... Don't ruin this for me..." He whispered to himself as his body started to shake. It had been months since he had even touched the bright green slime but here he was... Still having withdrawls. He shifted, pulling away from Tavros as he started to shake worse. He felt his pulse skyrocket and his body break into a sweat.


	15. Chapter 15

Tavros shifted, looking at him as he opened his eyes. "Gamzee?" he asked softly, reaching out for him. "Gamzee..."

Gamzee had curled himself into a tight ball, shaking and shivering. This was bad. One of the worst he had ever had. "Tav... Help..." He whimpered.

Tavros scooted across the bed, wrapping his arms around him tightly. "Gamzee... Shhh..." he hummed softly, petting his hair.

After a few minutes, the episode started to fade and Gamzee could stretch a little. The first thing he did was wrap his arms around Tavros. "I'm sorry..."

"Hey..." he whispered, gently hugging him close. "It's okay." he said softly, his hands gently resting on his head.

"No it's not... I know how much this scares you." Gamzee started to cry. "I can see it your eyes, Tav. It scares you when I have an episode... I'm so sorry..."

Tavros bit his lip. "Gamzee..." he whispered, tears starting to form in his own eyes. "Gamzee..." he curled up with him, holding him tightly, "Please..." he said quietly. "Please..."

Gamzee looked up at Tavros, cupping his face in his hands. "I love you so much Tav. I hate worrying you like this." He gently kissed him.

Gamzee looked up at Tavros. "Only because you're here..." He whispered.

"I know you'll pull through it." he said softly, his face lighting up into a smile.

* * *

><p>Karkat woke up, feeling a slight pain in his back. Sollux had been a little rough with him but he had throughly enjoyed their first Valentine's Day together.<p>

Sollux grumbled, laying on his stomach. "Nnnn..." he didn't want to move. It was so warm.

Karkat turned over so he was facing Sollux. "Morning Sollux." He leaned over, kissing Sollux gently.

Sollux grumbled. "Nnnnn" he whimpered, biting his lip. "No."

Karkat smiled at him. "I guess that I'll just go shower by myself then." He sighed dramatically as he crawled off the bed.

Sollux frowned. "Fine." he said quietly, crawling out of bed. He shivered. It was cold in their apartment. He hurried to the bathroom, turning the water on nice and hot. "Guh ith too cold to be thleeping naked."

"Well, whose fault is that?" Karkat grinned wrapping his arms around his matesprit's shoulders. "You loved it though."

"Yeah." he said, gently kissing him. "Mmm... I'm tho thleepy."

"Let's get in the shower. I bet it's warmer than out here." Karkat said softly as he turned to get into the shower.

"Nnnn." Sollux nodded, getting in, letting the warm water douse him.

Karkat grabbed the bottle of shampoo squirting it in his hands before he started on scrubbing his hair. "Hey Sol... Why don't we go out to dinner tonight? A just us date..."

"I like that." he said softly, smiling a little. "Leth."

Karkat smiled. "Switch me spots. I need to rinse." He said.

Sollux nodded, moving out of his way as he scrubbed his hair clean.

Karkat rinsed his hair out. They finished their shower and got out. They put their pajamas on before crawling back into bed and cuddling some more. "See. It's not hard to be romcom like." Karkat smirked.

"I told you I've been trying." he said, pouting. "Do you not believe me?"

"I know you have been. I was complimenting you, dumbass." Karkat snuggled up to him. "Having you here is better than any romcom."

Sollux smiled. "I'm glad." he said, pulling him in for a kiss, his cheeks pink. "Mmmmm"

"You're adorable!" Karkat smiled, kissing him back.

"Am not." he said, sticking out his tongue, wiggling it at Karkat.

"No you are. Whether you like it or not. You are adorable!" Karkat grinned, getting close to Sollux's ear. "And my sexy Honey Bee."

Sollux shivered. "Perv." he hissed, turning and pulling him into a kiss. "Nnn..."

Karkat kissed him back, running his hands over Sollux's chest. "You know you love me."

"I do." he said softly, wrapping his arms around him. "You keep me thane."

Karkat smiled. He was extremely excited about Sollux being so sweet to him. 'He is so amazing.' "Sollux... I love you." He whispered snuggling closer to his boyfriend.

"I love you too." he said, holding him close. "Mmmm..." he hummed, running his hand through Karkat's hair.

Karkat started to feel sleepy again. As he fell asleep, he thought he heard a purring sound.

Sollux smiled, kissing the top of his head. "In the wordth of Nepeta, Karkitty." he smiled, closing his eyes.

Visions of zombies chasing him and people being maimed in various ways caused Karkat to wake up screaming at the top of his lungs. "NO!"

Sollux woke suddenly, his jaw suddenly in pain. "Fuck!" he cried, holding his face. "Ow!"

Karkat looked down, hearing Sollux's voice. "Sol... I'm sorry!" He gasped, panic still making his heart race. "I had a nightmare... I'm so sorry."

He winced and leaned against Karkat. "Fuck that hurt." he mumbled, looking at him, his eyes narrow. "You okay?"

Karkat nodded. "Still a little freaked but okay. Are you?" He put his arms around Sollux. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah." he rubbed his jaw. "I'll be fine." he sighed, flopping back on the bed.

Karkat shivered as he curled back up with Sollux. He could still see the knife piercing Sollux's chest as he was held down. "Sol..."

Sollux frowned, gently brushing the hair away from Karkat's face. "Hey..." he said softly. "It wath jutht a dream."

"But it was so real..." Karkat cringed. "You... You were killed... In front of me..." He whispered burying his face into his chest.

Sollux frowned. "I'm here... I'm here." he said softly, rubbing his head carfully. "I'm here." he kissed the top of Karkat's head.

"I couldn't do anything! I couldn't move as they stabbed you..." Karkat started to cry. "It won't get out of my head..."

Sollux gently rubbed his temples, trying to calm him down. "Thhhh..." he tried to calm him, laying his head against him. "Thhh..."

Karkat gripped Sollux's shirt as if it was the only way to keep him there as he cried softly. He kept his eyes open, afraid that if he closed them for even a second all he would see was a knife impaling Sollux's heart.

Sollux hummed softly, a tune from back on Alternia. It was something his lusus had taught him, and something that he was told was from his ancestor. He hummed the tune quietly, brushing Karkat's hair with his fingers.

Karkat started to calm. He knew this melody from somewhere. He looked up at Sollux, his eyes puffy and red. "Thank you..."

Sollux smiled, gently touching his face. "Mmmmm..." he hummed, pulling him up gently for a kiss. "Nnnnn..."

"What time is it?" Karkat asked, kissing Sollux gently. "We need to eat at least once today..."

Sollux looked over at the clock. "Well we mithed the buth." he said softly.

Karkat looked up at the clock. "Well... Looks like we're not going to school today." He curled back up. "I don't really want to anyways..."

"I figured." he said softly, hugging him gently. "We can't thtay in bed all day though."

"I know but just a little longer?" He asked. "Please?"

"Yeah." he said softly, shifting as he curled up next to him. "Thomethimeth I with I wath a grub again."

"Why would you want that?" Karkat asked.

"It wath fun jutht kinda... Not being able to do anything."

"Yeah." Karkat nodded a little. "Okay... Let's get up. I'm hungry."

Sollux nodded, pulling back the covers. "Nnnn... Cold."

Karkat picked a hoodie up from the floor and tossed it to Sollux. "Here." He said, kneeling down by his dresser and getting out some clean clothes for later in the day.

Sollux pulled it over himself, walking into the kitchen, sitting down at the table. "Whath for breakfatht?"

"Oatmeal with honey for you and probably toast for me. I'm not really hungry but we still need to eat..." Karkat didn't know if he could stomach anything more than a couple pieces of toast. He hated how the nightmares he had when he watched horror movies made him lose his appetite.

Sollux smiled. "Okay." he said, grinning.

Karkat started on the food, making Sollux's oatmeal before putting the bread in the toaster. "Since we have the day off, what do you want to do?"

"Hmmmm..." he pondered. "I'm not thure."

Karkat poured the oatmeal into a bowl and drizzling a bunch of honey on top before setting it in front of Sollux. "Eat up." He kissed his cheek before he grabbed the toast from the toaster.

Sollux smiled, starting to eat.

"We could have a movie and cuddle day." Karkat suggested nibbling on the toast. "Or we could go out to the mall and walk around."

"Leth go to the mall. We can do a little thopping for the houth or thomething."

Karkat nodded. "Maybe we can go get lunch later at one of the restaurants by it."

"Yeah." he said, smiling. "I like thith idea."

They finished eating and got dressed quickly. "Wait... How are we going to get to the mall?"

He tapped his lip. "Uh..."

"We can see if Equius will take us..." Karkat suggested.

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he said softly, grinning. "Leth."

Karkat walked into their bedroom, changing clothes. He looked at himself in the mirror on his closet door. "What the hell? Why are there so many hickeys?" Karkat looked at his shoulders in the mirror. "Were you trying to eat me or something?" He looked at Sollux. "Perv."

Sollux laughed a little. "You know you love it." he said softly, grinning widely.

Karkat glared at him. "I look like I'm abused and it's all your fault." He said, crossing his arms. "Do I taste good or something? Is that why there are so many?" He sighed before his face turned bright red as he turned back around. "Nevermind. Don't answer that."

"You do." he said with confidence. "Very good actually. Thweet."

Karkat's blush deepened. "You're a jerk..." He mumbled grabbing his shirt and pulling it over his head. "I thought I said 'don't answer that'."

"I am not." he said, grinning as he pulled out some clothes, grabbing another one of his Gemini shirts. "I'm not a jerk." he pouted, looking down. "Meanie."

"Says the one who left hickeys all over me! How do you expect me to change for gym?" Karkat said, his voice slightly raised. "It's like your trying to say that I'm your property or something." He paused for a second. "Sol... Are you jealous that those stupid girls keep hitting on me?" He looked over at Sollux.

Sollux let his shoulders droop. "I can't help it, KK..." he said softly, biting his lip. He looked like he was about to cry.

"Why would you be jealous?" Karkat walked over to Sollux, sliding his arms around Sollux. "You're the only one that I love."

"I can't help... That I feel protective of you." he said softly. "I... I'm thorry I bit you." he said, gently touching the mark on his shoulder. "I'm thorry..."

"What do you mean by protective? I'm not going anywhere." He stood on his tipetoes, kissing Sollux gently. "You're my matesprit and the only one that I could ever imagine being with. Ever."

Sollux sighed nodding his head gently. "Y-yeah..." he said, pulling back a little, pulling his shirt on over his head.

"Sol." Karkat pulled Sollux to him. "You have no reason to be jealous. I hope you understand that." He snuggled against Sollux. "Besides, I'm just happy that you don't have your fangs anymore. That would have left more than just hickeys." He laughed a little. "Either way. I'm yours and I always will be." He smiled at him.

"Thame to you." he smiled. He wouldn't admit to Karkat that the voices had come back. Something had been telling him to keep away from James. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, gently leaning against him. "I promise you that I will be here for you until I die." he said softly. "Matethpritth for life. truly."

"That is the sweetest thing you have ever said..." Karkat looked up at him. He was slightly shocked that Sollux could say something so sappy. Karkat felt the heat of a blush covering his face as his stomach was filled with butterflies. "Matesprits for life." He smiled widely.

"Look KK I'm theriouthly trying here." he said, his face turning from a grin to a pout. "You know I care. Even in two quadranth but mothtly jutht one." he blushed. "You thould know thith by now."

"Sol. I know you're trying but I don't think you realize how much what you just said means to me." Karkat looked at him, his eyes filled with so much happiness that tears threatened to spill from them. "I know you love me but that just completely solidified everything for me. It let me know that I'm not going to lose you no matter how shitty of a matesprit I think I am."

"KK, you're not a thitty matethprit." he said, smiling weakly. "Trutht me." he hugged him close, pushing his head into his chest. "Thhh..."

"Sometimes I feel like I am but now I can remember what you said and feel better about myself." He slid his hands up Sollux's back, gently gripping his shoulders. "You don't know what that means to me. You don't know how happy you make me."

"Thame to you." he replied, gently hugging him close. "Leth get ready before EQ thowth up and we have to go with him being all thtrong and thit."

Karkat nodded, smiling as he finished changing clothes and gathering stuff for the trip. "I know that Equius is driving us... But can this be our first date?" Karkat asked quietly.

Sollux smiled. "Yeah." he said softly, going into the bathroom to brush his hair. "Leth awkward than latht time." he laughed a little, shoving a toothbrush in his mouth.

Karkat came into the bathroom, grabbing his hair brush and running it through his hair. He looked in the mirror, noticing the shirt that he was wearing. "How do your clothes keep getting mixed in with mine? I know I don't mix the piles when I do laundry..."

"I dunno." he said softly, looking at him. "I think maybe it's just you not turning them right thide out when you get them and thove them into the dretthher."

"I'm actually kinda careful when I fold the clothes and if you haven't noticed, I have all the shirts and everything else right side out before I fold them and put them in the dressers." Karkat paused. Was he really fighting about laundry? He sounded like a housewife. "Honestly, it doesn't even matter. I like wearing your shirts."

Sollux grinned. "I like wearing your thirtth too." he smiled.

Karkat looked at him, his cheeks pink. "Dorkfish." He smiled as he walked out of the bathroom.

"Pffffft." he chortled, walking out of the bathroom. "Call EQ." he said, shaking his head.

Karkat pulled out his cell phone, dialing Equius. "Hey Equius. Sollux and I were wondering if you could take us to the mall? Yeah. Okay. Thanks." He hung up and turned toward Sollux. "We need to be by the death machine in 5 minutes."

"Death machine?" he asked, shaking his head. "You're thilly."

"The van but with Equius driving, it's a death machine." Karkat laughed.

"Yeah." he said softly, frowning. "I gueth it ith."

"Hurry up. I want to start our date." Karkat pouted a little bit.

Sollux grinned. "Ath far ath I'm concerned ith already thtarted."

"When did it start?" Karkat asked softly, wrapping his arms around Sollux.

"Ath thoon ath you thaid thomething." he shrugged his shoulders, frowning.


	16. Chapter 16

"That's adorable." Karkat smiled. "You're getting good at this."

"How?" he shaking his head.

"Think about what you just said and tell me how that's not romantic." Karkat pulled away slightly. "I think it's cute that you have considered us on a date since we were getting ready. It's sweet."

"Aww." he blushed. "Thtop it." he said, his face turning upwards in a grin.

Karkat couldn't help the goofy grin that was plastered onto his face. "We need to get down to the van or else Equius will come and breakdown the door."

"Yeah." he laughed. "Perhapth." he said, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, grabbing his jacket.

Karkat smiled as he slipped his jacket on and grabbed his messenger bag before grabbing Sollux's hand as they left the apartment. "I'm taking your hand hostage today."

Sollux shrugged. "Thath fine." he said quietly, smiling a little. "I don't mind today."

Karkat smiled, entangling their fingers as they walked down the stairs to the van. "I'm so excited!"

Sollux grinned. "Me too. I need new clothth." he said, smiling.

"I'm fine on the clothes front but I want a new backpack. The red one is driving me crazy..." He sighed, no matter how much he tried, he just couldn't like the color red unless it was Sollux's red eye.

Sollux rolled his eyes. "I'm thorry. Mine ithn't much better." he admitted.

"Then that's something we should look into today." Karkat nodded.

"Yeah." he said. "I altho need thome new panth." he tugged at his a little, them sliding down around his hips. "They're too big."

"That just means you need to eat more." Karkat looked at him. "I've told you that countless times."

"I know." he said, "But until I gain, I need new panth."

"I know." Karkat sighed. Equius finally arrived at the vehicle after a few minutes of waiting.

Sollux took a deep breath, gently opening the door before getting in. "Thith thing terrifieth me."

"I told you. Death Machine." Karkat mumbled as he climbed in, shutting the door after him.

Sollux looked at Equius. "Hey Eq. Thith ith kinda like... A chariot ride and you're the hoofbeatht." he laughed a little

"I am not as... Valiant as a hoofbeast." Equius said quietly.

"Really? That was brilliant Sol!" Karkat laughed.

Sollux grinned. "Well EQ, I think that you're thtill a good perthon?" he smiled.

"Why does that matter, lowblood?" Equius said, putting the van in drive.

"There isn't a caste anymore Equius. We're all equal now." Karkat glared at him.

Sollux glared. "Oi..." he grumbled. "You bleed red like we all do." he spat, his powers flaring.

Equius sighed. "It is hard to forget the ways in which you were raised."

Karkat nodded slightly. His blood being mutant red back on Alternia had caused him to forever hate the color. He squeezed Sollux's hand a little harder remembering how calm Sollux had been when he had revealed the color of his blood.

Sollux sighed. "Time will change that." he said softly, shaking his head.

Karkat looked out the window as they drove. He knew that everyone bled red now but it still felt like something was wrong with him.

Sollux looked over at him, sending a little tingling sensation through Karkat's hand, his face looking sorrowful.

Karkat looked over, feeling the psionics playing on his hand. "What's up?" He asked softly.

"Nothing. Worried about you ath alwayth." he said, frowning.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about stupid stuff." Karkat smiled at him. "Nothing to worry about."

"If you thay tho." he said, looking back away, sighing quietly.

Karkat scooted closer to him, laying his head on Sollux's shoulder. "I'm sorry... You know what's bothering me..." Karkat said. At least he hoped that Sollux knew what it was.

Sollux nodded, sighing quietly, gently running his hand through his hair. "Yeah."

Karkat snuggled into Sollux. Even though it didn't matter anymore, he didn't want anyone to know that his blood used to be candy red. "Thank you..."

Sollux watched as they pulled into the parking lot of the mall. Sollux sighed quietly, looking at him. "Leth go." he said, once the car stopped.

Karkat felt slightly upset when Sollux pulled away. He got out of the car. 'Some date this is turning out to be...' He thought to himself. 'Why do I have to fuck everything up?'

Sollux waited until Equius had driven off, before he pulled Karkat close, gently kissing him. "I won't do that again in public, but you looked tho thad." he said, frowning. "Tho I wanted to at leatht do it once."

Karkat looked up at him. "I'm sorry Sol... It's just you know about the whole thing with my blood and it just..." He sighed, leaning against Sollux. "I'm fucking our date up aren't I?"

"Not at all." he said, gently pulling him into a hug. "Jutht ignore what EQ thaid." he smiled. "Okay? Thith ith about uth."

Karkat nodded, feeling a bit better. "One quick thing... Why didn't you freak out when I told you about it?" He asked softly. It had always been something that he had wanted to ask. "We weren't matesprits then and you could have told some one and gotten me..."

"Becauth it doethn't bother me. I don't care about the catht thythtem." he admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "Ith thomething that I never really cared about. EQ on the other hand ith like obthethhed with it."

"Yeah. Thanks Sol." He smiled up at Sollux. "Let's go!"

Sollux nodded, pulling him along into the mall. He hadn't actually been there since they had gotten to earth. He smiled, gently walking store to store with Karkat. Soon they had raked up a few bags filled with clothes and things for their trip and for the apartment. He sighed, sitting down, laying his head back as he looked up at Karkat. "We need like... A bathket or thomething..."

"For what?" Karkat asked confused. "Oh! We need bathing suits!"

Sollux blushed. He was slightly afraid of this idea of bathing suits. "H-huh?" he asked, looking at him. "Why...?"

"The beach... I wanted to go..." Karkat said. "Why do we need a basket?"

"To put theth bagth in." he said, nodding to the bags infront of him. "Nnnn... Leth keep going then." he said, picking up the bags.

"Then let me carry something." Karkat pouted.

Sollux grinned. "Here." he handed him half the bags. "Thith okay?" he asked, smiling.

"Yeah." Karkat smiled. "Let's go over there!" He started toward a store with mannequins that were covered in various bathing suits.

Sollux cringed at the thought of wearing a bathing suit in public. Something about the idea of being shirtless around others didn't really seem like a good idea.

"Look! That one is black and yellow!" Karkat giggled taking it off the shelf and shoved it in Sollux's direction.

Sollux blushed, looking at it. It was a pair of shorts, which wasnt bad, but... "KK, do I have to?" he asked, feeling a bit self conscious.

"Do you not want to go to the beach? But that's one of the best things about Florida!" Karkat pleaded.

Sollux frowned. "But KK..." he started to say, feeling self conscious.

Karkat gave up instantly. "Sorry... We don't have to go to the beach if it makes you that uncomfortable." He took the swim trunks from Sollux's hands and placed them back where he had grabbed them from. "Can we eat now? I'm starving."

"Yeah." he said, looking down. He wanted to swim. He really did... But Sollux didn't have the guts to tell Karkat that A. he didn't know how to swim, and B. he was terrified of the water, and C. the scars on his body were painfully embarrasing.

Karkat switched all the bags to his other arm, wrapping his now free arm around Sollux's. "I love you." He smiled up at him.

Sollux smiled weakly. "Leth go eat and then I'm gonna come back and I'll at leatht try it on." he whispered.

"Really? But I thought you didn't want to go to the beach!" Karkat's eyes lit up with surprise.

"I'll go...b-but I might just lay out on the thand or thomething." he said softly. "But I'll go." He bit his lip. Why was he doing this?

"That's fine." Karkat's smile widdened. "I'm so excited for the trip!"

Sollux smiled. He was glad to see that Karkat was smiling instead of actually frowning.

"Wwell, wwhat do wwe havve here?"

"Oh gog. What do you want Eridan?" Karkat glared at him, his mood ruined by the desperate now-human.

Eridan looked really different. His hair, which was still purple and black, but his eyes, which were a jade green, stood out from his pale lightly freckled face. "Oh hi guys." he said, frowning. "Don't look so happy to see me..."

"Eridan, you drove uth crazy the latht time we thaw you." He rolled his eyes, looking at the man. He was taller than Sollux, so even he had to look up to see him.

Karkat looked away from him. "Let's go get food, Sollux." he started to walk away. Karkat had the biggest problem in dealing with Eridan. Eridan always talked about the fact that he is royalty and higher than everyone. It made Karkat sick.

"Wwait!" he said, reaching out after them. "Hey... You don't have to go and leavve like that." he said, frowning, his stutter still full in swing. "I wwas just wwondering wwhat you guys wwere up to..." he looked sad.

Karkat paused. He looked at Sollux, wondering if he was okay with Eridan knowing that they were on a date.

Sollux sighed. "Eridan, I'm on a date."

"O-Oh..." the purple and black haired boy looked down. "I see." he fumbled with his hands a little.

Karkat sighed loudly. "What do you want Ampora?"

"I wwas just wwonderin' if maybe wwe could all hang sometime." He looked on the edge of tears.

"Why do you want to hang out with us? Aren't we still lowbloods in your mind?" Karkat asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"N-no not at all!" he said his voice seeming sad. "I'm not royalty anymore." he said, wringing his hands. "I'm equal with you all."

Karkat looked up at Sollux, unsure of what to do.

Sollux rolled his eyes. "Ampora, we'll have to talk to you later. We'll tektht you or thomething." Eridan seemed to perk up a little bit. "O-Okay!" he smiled. "Havve fun on your date."

Karkat smiled at Sollux after Eridan left. "That is why I let you handle things like that fucker." He laughed. "Seriously though. Food."

Sollux nodded. "Yeah yeah." he said, walking towards the food court. "I'm thtarving."

"What should we eat?" Karkat asked.

Sollux shrugged and pointed out a few places. Finally they decided on one, paid for food and settled down to eat. Sollux had gotten some sort of Asian food and was baffled on how to use chopsticks. Instead he stuck to using the fork.

Karkat looked at the wrapper for his chopsticks, following the instructions carefully. He picked up a piece of the chicken, smiling. "I got it!"

Sollux pursed his lips. "Well aren't you thpecial." he said, pouting as he shoved a piece of chicken in his mouth.

Karkat looked over at him. "If it makes you feel any better it's only because I'm stubborn that I got it."

"Yup." he said, stuffing more food in his mouth.

It was quiet the rest of the meal. Sollux went back to the store with the bathing suits, looking as he tried it on, standing in the dressing room, his shirt covering his chest. He walked out, looking at Karkat. "Doeth thith really look okay?"

The trunks made Sollux look taller and you could actually see the subtle muscles in his legs. "I think I need to see it without the shirt." Karkat grinned.

Sollux turned dark red. "No way." he said, crossing his arms. "Not happening."

"Why not? I've seen you without a shirt before!" Karkat pouted, crossing his arms. "Not fair."

Sollux bit his lip, looking really self conscious. "If... If you come in here I will." he said softly, looking down. "I... I jutht don't want to here."

"Fine with me." Karkat practically jumped out of his chair, slipping into the dressing room. He closed the door. "Strip."

Sollux turned red, slowly pulling the shirt off over his head. The pale boy covered himself with his arms, looking down.

Karkat grabbed his hands. "Sol. I love your body. You should know that by now." He smiled softly. "No. You're not getting this." Karkat grinned, moving closer to Sollux. "You shouldn't be allowed to look this hot."

Sollux blushed darkly. "KK..." he said, grabbing for his shirt. "KK..." he bit his lip, looking down, tears in his eyes.

"What? That's my honest opinion." Karkat pulled away, a smug grin on his face. "This rivals the bee costume."

"I doubt it." he said softly, pulling his shirt on. "Do you want me to get it? Or not?" he asked, keeping his head low.

"Get them." Karkat smiled. "They look nice. I like them a lot."

Sollux nodded, pulling them off before putting his pants back on. "T-thorry." he said, wiping at his eyes.

"For what?" Karkat asked, pulling Sollux close to him. "What's up?" His eyes suddenly filled with worry.

"N-Nothing." he said softly, looking at him, a tearful smile on his face. "I'll... I'll be fine."

"Sol. Talk to me. What's wrong?" Karkat asked.

"Can I talk to you about it later?" he asked, pouting a little. "I promithe ith not anything bad and ith nothing you've done wrong." he smiled, gently kissing Karkat before opening the door. "Let me go buy theth."

"Okay?..." Karkat followed behind him. "I need to get a pair too..."

Sollux smiled. "Go pick thome out." he said, "I'll pay for them when you're done."

"I want you to pick them for me..." Karkat said softly, his face pink. He wanted Sollux to like what he was wearing, hint the reason why he took Sollux's shirts a lot.

Sollux looked around at the different mannequins. "Hmm..." he grinned wickedly as he walked over, looking at a speedo. "Try thith on." he said, then going and getting another one, like his, but in gray and black.

"No." Karkat glared at him. "Please be reasonable about this." He walked close to Sollux. "Do you really want people being able to see most of my body?"

"No." he laughed. "It wath a joke KK." he said, putting the speedo back on the shelf. "I like thith one. My other one would be either red or blue, and you don't like thothe colorth."

"I don't mind blue but we all know how I feel about red." Karkat sighed. "I'll go try this on. No laughing if I look ridiculous." He started to walk away with the shorts in hand.

Sollux waited, smiling. He sat down with his bags. He was thankful that Karkat at least looked happy and wasn't sad about his little fit a few minutes ago.

Karkat opened the door slowly. "This okay?" He asked, his face pink. He looked up, wanting to see Sollux's reaction to the trunks and his being shirtless. He also noticed that a lot of the girls in the store were staring at him. He quickly turned around and went back into the dressing room. "Nevermind!"

Sollux scowled. "KK..." he stood up, gently knocking on the door. "KK..." he sighed. "Really?"

"What? I look ridiculous..." He said. He was sitting in the corner of the dressing room, still in the trunks and still shirtless.

"You do not." he frowned, jiggling the handle. "Can I come in?" he asked

Karkat stood and opened the door. "Yeah..."

Sollux walked in, smiling. "Thath cute." he said, looking down at him. "I like."

Karkat's face turned pink. "Really?"

"Yeth." he donned that stupid grin when he really liked something. He wrapped his arms around him. "I love it." he said, grinning. "Ith awethome on you. Now come on. We thould call EQ and have him come get uth thoon. How many more thtoreth do we have?"

"Like 3 or 4." Karkat leaned his head against Sollux's chest. "Thanks Sol."

Sollux smiled, "Come on. I'll be waiting up at the regithtur." he smiled.

"Hey... One more kiss?" Karkat smiled.

Sollux nodded, leaning in, gently kissing him before walking out of the dressing room, going to take his seat and wait.

Karkat hurriedly changed back into his jeans, throwing the shirt on after. He walked out of the dressing room in record time. "Okay."

Sollux smiled at him, paying for both swimsuits before heading out of the store with their bags. They walked into the other stores. "Hmm..." they passed by a piercing place. "Nah..."

"What?" Karkat asked. "Do you want a piercing?"

"I dont know." he said, looking at it. "Ith pothible."

"What would you get pierced?" Karkat asked. "I would probably get my eyebrow pierced but that's me."

"Dont know." he pondered for a moment, clicking his tongue. "What do you think?"

"You're tongue? But it's bifurcated. Can you even get it pierced?" Karkat asked.

"Oh I have no idea." he laughed. "Ith worth athking right?" he laughed a little. "

"Why do I have a feeling that this is more for me than you?..." Karkat mumbled. "Let's go ask." He sighed, following Sollux into the piercing parlor.

Sollux shrugged. "Hell if I know." he muttered.

"Hi! What can we do for you?" The woman asked.

Karkat looked around, taking in the drawings on the walls.

"I was just curiouth about pierthingth." he said, looking at her. She was pretty pierced up. "I dont know what I want though." he said softly.

"Well, you can pierce just about anywhere." She smiled. "Did you have anything in mind?"

Sollux laughed at the first thought and shoved that away as fast as possible. "Well..." he stuck out his tongue, showing his bifurcated tongue.

"Tongue? We can do a bifurcated tongue. Would you want one on both sides?" She asked.

"Sol? That is sure to hurt a lot..." Karkat put his hand on Sollux's shoulder.

"And you think thith didnt?" the only thing that concerned him was his lisp.

"I have no doubts that that hurt. I'm just worried for you..." Karkat said, looking away.

"Is that what you want?" The woman asked.

"Worried?" he frowned. "No..." he bit his lip. "My lithp ith bad enough. I can't even imagine..." he grumbled. "Maybe my ear but..." he frowned. "Leth pain."

"Are you a masochist or something?" Karkat asked, confused. "What do you mean by less pain?"

Sollux glared at him. "Whath that thupothed to mean." he quirked an eyebrow. "Oh I know." he tapped the top part of his ear. "Thith."

"Okay." The lady smiled. "Are you sure? You're boyfriend seems worried." She laughed a little.

Karkat looked over at Sollux. He kinda wanted to get his lip pierced. "Hey Sol... How do you think I would look with my lip pierced?"

Sollux shrugged. "KK will be fine." he said, laughing. "He ith jutht... Overly... Oh whath the word." he said softly.

"Worrisome?" She laughed a little. "Okay. I need IDs before I do any piercing."

Sollux dug around in his bag. "Where ith it..." he grumbled, pulling out his ID.

Karkat looked over at Sollux, a scowl on his face. "While you get a needle shoved through your ear, I'm going to get ice cream." Karkat said.

"That's too bad. I bet he would like to have you hold his hand." the piercer laughed. "Okay. Let's get started Sollux."

Sollux laughed a little bit and followed her. "Heth not much of a happy thport." he said, rolling his eyes. "Thilly thilly."

"Fuck you Captor." Karkat said before going back to the food court.

"It's fine." She smiled. "So what can I do for you?"

Sollux had been flipping through the ear piercings, pointing at one he thought looked pretty cool. "That."

"Not a problem." She smiled. "Follow me."

Sollux followed behind closely, sighing softly.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked. "If it's about me calling your friend, your boyfriend. I'm sorry but you two are just adorable together!"

"No no." he said, shaking his head. "I'm just... Worn out. Didnt get a lot of thleep."

"I understand." She said. "This will only take a few minutes. I have to go get my stuff ready so just take a seat in the red chair."

Sollux nodded, sitting down in the chair, waiting patiently.

She came back a few minutes later with clean hands, gloves and the spiral ring for the piercing. "Let's get started." She smiled as she cleaned the area. "Take a deep breath in. When I say now, breathe out until I count to three."

Sollux nodded. He couldnt help shivering a litte bit. He didnt like pain, but this would look cool, and he wanted it, so he let out a sigh and breathed in gently.

"Now." She said. Sticking the needle through for the first hole. "1... 2... 3..." She finished weaving the needle through. "Now I'm going to change the needle for the ring."

Sollux winced, one eye shut tightly, the other open, looking straight ahead. "Nnnnh ow."

"All done." She said after slipping the ring in through the holes. "That's $45."

Sollux handed her the card, sighing softly, as he looked at it in the mirror. It stung, but it wasnt horible. He paid and left, walking towards the food court.

Karkat sat there grumbling over his ice cream. "I'm not worrisome... I just know that you don't like pain you idiot." He mumbled as he shoved the spoon in his mouth. "Stupid Sollux.."

Sollux grumbled. "I am not." gently touching his ear. It hurt a little, but it didnt hurt enough to complain about. "What?"

Karkat jumped, not expecting Sollux to be behind him. "Sol!"

Sollux laughed. "Did I thcare you?" he asked, smiling brightly. "Hey."

"No." Karkat turned back to his ice cream, grumbling about random stuff.

He sat down across from him. "Well?" he pushed back his hair a little.

"Nice. How bad did it hurt?" Karkat asked between mouthfuls of the chocolate ice cream.

"Not horrible." he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Karkat nodded before holding the spoon toward Sollux. "Want some?"

Sollux nodded, gently taking the spoon, shoving the ice cream in his mouth. "Mmmmm" he hummed softly, smiling.

Karkat smiled. "Let's go home."

Sollux nodded. They gathered all their bags, heading out of the entrance for the mall, meeting Eq there to take them home.

Once home, Sollux practically collapsed with all the bags digging through them.

Karkat sat on the bed after dumping his load of bags by Sollux. "I'm so sleepy." He curled into a ball on the bed.

Sollux continued to dig through the bags. "KK... What the fuck ith thith?" he asked, pulling out a bag. "Hahahah!"

Karkat blushed deep red. He had forgotten that he had bought that. 'How the hell did you forget that you idiot!' he scolded himself. "I bought that for you to wear."

Sollux looked at it. "Ith not my thize." he shook his head. "Thith ith yourth itnt it?


	17. Chapter 17

"I'm taking a nap now." Karkat flung himself back into the comforting protection of the blankets. 'FUCK! NICE JOB VANTAS!'

Sollux laughed. "Okay." he said softly, stuffing it back in the bag. They'd use that... Later.

While Karkat napped, Eridan texted Sollux almost non-stop. He grumbled, finally seeing Karkat waking.

"Nnnng." Karkat yawned as he sat up. "Nice face Sollux. Did a hoofbeast just stomp all over you?" He laughed a little. "Seriously, why do you look pissed?"

"Eridan won't thtop texting me." he grumbled, looking at him with angry eyes. "It'th tho thtupid."

Karkat walked over to his matesprit, wrapping his arms around him. "What does he want? You to fill one of his quadrants?"

"What elthe." he grumbled, rubbing his temples. "Aghh..." he sighed. "What do you want me to do, be hith fucking kithmethith?"

"No. Even though that would get him to shut up and leave us alone, you're mine. Completely." Karkat mumbled.

"KK, would you kill me if I thaid that maybe we thould have a 3 way?" he grumbled.

"Are you fucking serious? With Eridan?" Karkat pulled away a little. "You're not seriously considering that... Are you?"

"It would get him to leave me the fuck alone, would it not?" he asked, glaring at him. "He wouldn't text uth all vacation."

Karkat had to admit that Sollux had a valid point. It would get Eridan to leave them alone, possibly forever. "I can't believe that I'm agreeing to this. He better not fucking touch me and I get you later. To myself." He pouted, crossing his arms.

"Firtht night of vacation I'm all yourth." he sighed.

A week passed. The pair was all packed and just about ready to go. The pair had decided that it was going to be best to go ahead and let Eridan come over and get their thing done. Eridan had no idea, and Sollux had mentioned to Karkat that this was strictly a kismesis thing and that it wouldn't last any longer than tonight. He told him that his actions would be different and that he would be back in Karkat's arms that night before they had to go to the airport.

Karkat snuggled against Sollux. "I'm starting to rethink this..." He whispered. "I don't like the thought of him touching you... Anyone else besides him and Equius, I could deal with but..."

"KK..." he pulled him into a kiss, his hands gently slipping down Karkat's sides, his fingers slipping beneath the waistband of his boxers. "It'll be okay. Bethideth." he grinned. "You'll have both of me."

"You're such a tease." Karkat sighed. "Stop touching me... Or I'll make you take me here." He kissed Sollux's neck, nipping gently.

"You can wait a little bit." he said, smiling. "Bethideth, Eridan will be here thoon." he leaned down placing kisses on his neck and throat, his hand sliding lower.

"Aaaah." Karkat moaned softly, his body starting to be flooded with a delicious, tingling heat that only Sollux could create within him.

Sollux grinned, slowly stroking him. "Mmm... It'th too bad you'll have to wait a bit." he tilted Karkat's head up with his finger, kissing him forcefully, his tongue slowly slipping into his mouth.

Karkat moaned into the kiss, meeting Sollux's tongue with his own. That's when the doorbell rang.

Sollux grumbled, pulling away, placing another small kiss on his lips before getting up. He sighed, his face turned down to a scowl as he opened the door to see Eridan standing there with a look of happiness on his face. Sollux growled, using his powers to drag him inside, pushing him up against the wall.

"Sol...?" he asked, his eyes wide. They got even wider when Sollux pressed his mouth against his, his psionics holding Eridan in place as he pulled back, a line of saliva dripping from his mouth.

"Lithten up." he said, glaring at Eridan. "You are going to get thith done, and get the fuck out. Hear me?"

Eridan couldn't have been happier in the given situation.

Why was Sollux dominating someone else so hot to Karkat? He didn't know but he couldn't help the fluttering in his stomach as he watched Sollux begin to work on Eridan.

Sollux grumbled, his mouth attacking Eridan's again, feeling Eridan start to get hard against his leg. He yanked his pants down, taking the boxers with him. He let out a growl as he ripped Eridan's shirt from him, throwing him to the ground, naked. "Look." He glared, "I'm topping Karkat. You're topping me. You hear me?" he spat, glaring down at him. Eridan nodded weakly, his eyes wide as saucers. Sollux pulled down his pants. "KK. ED. Get over here." he said, leaning against the wall, grumbling.

Karkat walked over, trying to keep his blush under control. Sollux had never been this demanding before and he kinda liked it. Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux's waist, nipping at his neck and ear as his hand moved down and started to stroke one of Sollux's erections.

Eridan walked over, kneeling as he took the bottom most one into his mouth.

Sollux let out a whimper. "G-Gog..." he breathed, looking down at them. "S-Shi..."

"Do you want me down there too?" Karkat asked, running his tongue up Sollux's neck.

Sollux panted. "Y-Yeah..." he said softly, his face turning red. "A-aaannnnnn..." he panted, feeling Eridan's tongue lavish him. He felt Karkat's mouth slip over him, and he felt his head hit the wall behind him. "O-Oh gog" he gasped out, his breath coming hard. "Y-you guyth have no idea... How amathing..." he panted, his hand reaching down, grabbing both of their heads.

Karkat ran his tongue up the shaft on which he was working, making small sucking noises when he would take the erection into his mouth as Sollux's noises encouraged him to go further with his movements. Karkat relaxed his throat, taking Sollux compeletly. He felt the thin fingers of his matesprit clamp down on his hair, encouraging him further.

Sollux felt both of them go down as far as they could and he cried out, his head banging against the wall behind them again. "Fuck you guyth ..." he grumbled, pulling back Eridan's head. Eridan stood, his lips finding Sollux's, his hand reaching down, stroking him. Sollux grumbled against the kiss, biting down hard on his lower lip, causing Eridan to cry out in pain.

"Ouch Sol!" he glared.

Sollux growled, grabbing his hair. "I told you thith wath kithmethith only didn't I?" he said, his eyes narrow. "KK..." he breathed, looking down at his lover. He gently petted his hair, pulling him back slightly. "Bed. Now." he said, pointing towards the bedroom.

Karkat stood, grabbing Sollux's hand as the group made their way back into the bedroom. He knew that Sollux had already gotten everything they could need out already. Karkat sat on the bed first, slowly taking off Sollux's hoodie leaving him with nothing but his boxers on.

Sollux looked at him. "KK, boktherth off." he said, crawling onto the bed, kicking his pants off, leaving him bared to the world.

Eridan grinned, grabbing the lube that was on the bed, spreading some onto his fingers before grabbing Sollux's hips, slowly inserting 2 fingers into him, stretching him.

Sollux cried out in a mix of pain and surprise, turning his head to look back at him. "KK..." he breathed, looking down at him. He grabbed the lube, spreading some onto his own fingers as he spread Karkat's legs, inserting 2 fingers into him. Sollux winced, feeling Eridan moving his fingers faster. "F-Fuck..."

Karkat was glad that he had quickly disposed the boxers. He whimpered as Sollux slid his fingers into him. "Sollux..." He whispered, leaning up and kissing him gently. He was trying to ignore the fact that Eridan was in their room and touching his matesprit.

Sollux made a soft noise, his head drooping as Eridan hit a rather sensitive spot. He fingered Karkat faster, eager to be inside. "Fuck KK..." he grumbled, his hand supporting himself over Karkat's body.

Eridan ran his fingers along Sollux's spine, taking note of every scar in his skin. Some he recognized somehow. Maybe it was an ancestor thing.

"Faster..." Karkat moaned. "Please!" He wrapped his arms around Sollux's shoulders, keeping his eyes shut tightly. He didn't want to see Eridan, he didn't want to think about the fact that he was there. He just wanted Sollux.

Sollux felt impatient. "KK turn over." He helped, gently lifting Karkat's hips before pushing himself inside. He put in one first, making sure he was okay before slowly pushing the second one in.

Eridan scooted to where it was comfortable and pushed into Sollux, eliciting a scream from the other.

"Oh fuck!" Sollux cried out, his eyes wide.

Karkat screamed into the pillow, feeling Eridan push into Sollux. "Gog... I want both..." Karkat begged.

Sollux grunted, unable to say anything as he pushed both fully into Karkat, gasping as Eridan started to move. He could feel Eridan's nails digging into his hips.

"Oh cod Sol..." he breathed.

Karkat could feel every movement of Eridan's hips against Sollux's. Sollux was already much deeper than he normally would be at this point but Karkat didn't care, it felt amazing.

Sollux leaned over Karkat's body, wincing. It was almost too much. He cried out every time Eridan slammed into him, his body already feeling tight enough as is. He cringed, panting as he slammed into Karkat. How was he so close already?

Karkat buried his head into the bee pillow, gripping it with all of his power. He screamed into the pillow, feeling Eridan slam harshly into Sollux. He couldn't think about anything besides the delicious heat coming from Sollux's body against his.

Sollux felt Eridan's nails run down his back. Gog he was enjoying this way too much. He cried out, pushing back against Eridan and into Karkat somehow at the same time. His whole body ached for release. He felt tears drip down his nose. It hurt... So good.

Karkat didn't realize how close to the edge he was until he screamed, releasing onto the bed. "Sollux..." He whimpered feeling his matesprit still drive hard into him.

Sollux felt Karkat clench around him. He cried out, spilling into Karkat, filling him.

Eridan grinned, slamming as hard as he could into Sollux, feeling his body start to tighten as he rode out his orgasm. He knew this was somehow pleasurable to both of them, but not only to Sol, but to Kar as well. He grunted his nails making crescent shaped dents against Sollux's soft supple flesh. "Oh cod Sol!" he cried out, spilling into him before falling over Sollux's back panting.

As soon as he caught his breath, he pulled out, feeling Sollux's body quiver. He pulled on his clothes and left after giving Sollux a gentle pat on the back. "Thanks you guys." he said, smiling. "I'll leave you alone now." he took his leave, leaving Sollux a quivering shaking mess.

Karkat couldn't move. Every inch of his body was covered with invisible flames. He groaned as he turned to face Sollux, snuggling up against him. "I love you..." He whispered before passing out.

"KK..." he whispered falling over, before falling into a sleep.

He heard the alarm going off, but it sounded so distant. He knew somewhere in his mind that they had to be up early due to their plane, but... "Nngh fuck..." he grumbled, feeling something shift beside him.

"Ahh. Fuck!" Karkat yelled as he shifted. "I fucking hate you both." He grumbled as he shifted. He didn't want to move but they had a plane to catch. "I need to shower. Gog this hurts..."

Sollux grumbled, using his powers to lift both of them to the bathroom, even using his powers to turn the water on.

"You in pain too?" Karkat asked. "Why did I agree to that again?" He leaned against Sollux.

"I don't know." he mumbled, lifting himself into the shower, curling up on the bottom of the shower, letting the hot water wash over him. "Guhhhh..."

"I think we can agree on never again." Karkat sighed, as he tried to stand so he could actually shower.

Sollux made a soft noise. "The water ith tho warm..." he said quietly. "I don't think I can move..."

"Then how do you expect to get on the plane?" Karkat asked, putting his hands on his hips. "I know you're in pain but so am I. Plus you didn't have two people slamming into you." He grumbled.

"It felt like it." he said softly, slowly shifting, hissing in pain. "Ow..." he muttered quietly, cringing. "Nnnn..." he finally worked on standing, leaning against Karkat gently, his whole form shaking. "My back ith killing me."

"I know you're pain." Karkat laughed a little. He could tell by the way that Sollux was reacting and had the night before that Eridan was much bigger than he was and that made him slightly self-conscious. "How about we wait a couple days before I claim you as mine again?"

"Y-yeah..." he said quietly, sticking his head under the water. "That... That would be a good idea." he said softly, his cheeks pink.

Karkat wanted to know who Sollux thought was better but he didn't think he'd get an honest response because he knew that Sollux would want to make him feel superior. "Did you at least enjoy it?" He asked softly.

"When I wathn't thcreaming in pain, yeah." he said, gently touching Karkat's face. "You were amathing of courth."

"You're such a kiss ass." He smiled, nuzzling into the hand. "Though it hurt like fuck thanks to that fish fucker, I like having you in me..."

"Yeah." He said, smiling. "That... Really hurt." he said, cringing at the memory. "Not for a while okay?" he said. "I don't think my ath can take it."

"I know. Do you not remember my comment from earlier?" Karkat laughed a little. "I love you Sollux."

"I love you too." he said, smiling. "Come on." he said, washing his hair, shifting a little, his back aching. "Leth get drethed and get everything together for our trip."

"I already packed everything. I did that like 2 days ago." Karkat sighed. "Let me." Karkat smiled, gently rubbing Sollux's scalp.

"I know, I know." he muttered, leaning into every touch. "Nnnn... I'm thleeping on the plane okay?"

"Fine with me." Karkat said softly. "Rinse."

The pair of them finished getting ready. They got dressed, hauled their things to the van, heading to the airport. They checked their cargo, got their tickets and waited in their terminal. Sollux leaned on Karkat, his eyes fluttering shut.

"I told you we should have stopped for coffee." Karkat mumbled, wrapping his arm around Sollux's waist in an attempt to keep him steady. Karkat was used to functioning with his body hurting like this, not this much pain before but the feeling was similar.

"I'll be fine." he said, hearing as they called for people boarding. He sighed, grabbing his bag and Karkat's hand, gently taking him up to the desk, handing them their tickets. He walked with Karkat through the gate, getting out to the front where they got onto the plane. They found their seats. Sollux took the seat by the window. It was going to be a 3 hour flight. He sighed, looking out the window.

Karkat kept hold of Sollux's hand. "Sweet dreams." He smiled at him.

Sollux fastened himself in, resting against the window. The plane took off, not with much disgruntlement from Sollux, who plugged his ears with headphones as he sighed softly. He didn't like flying.

Karkat put in his headphones as well, grabbing Sollux's hand again. He leaned against him.

The plane hit a spot of rough turbulence. Sollux was jolted awake by the feeling of the plane shaking. "Oh gog oh gog oh gog." The pilot came on the intercom. "We are experiencing some turbulence. It will pass soon."

"Calm down. We're fine." Karkat papped him softly. "Shooooooooooooooooooooooooosh."

Sollux made a soft whimpering noise, looking at him before he finally felt his heartbeat slow. They came out of turbulence. Sollux sighed, laying his head back against the chair, looking over at Karkat. "KK..."

"Yes?" he asked, looking over at Sollux.

"Thankth." he said, closing his eyes again.

"You're welcome." Karkat said softly.

The plane was announced to be landing soon. Sollux rubbed his eyes, waiting. As soon as the plane hit the ground, he gasped, gripping Karkat's hand tightly as they pulled up to the gate. He stood, grabbing his things his stomach feeling a little uneasy.

"We're on the ground now. We're fine." Karkat smiled, squeezing his hand gently.

Sollux nodded. "I... I know." he said softly, looking at him, his eyes slightly wide. "My thtomach ithn't feeling tho hot." he frowned. "But that'th ok."

"Well that gives you the whole day to start feeling better before Disney World tomorrow." He smiled softly.

Sollux nodded. The two headed to their hotel, getting their bags. They took the shuttle and watched as they made it to their hotel right on the outskirts of Disney. It was within walking distance. They got into their room, sighing softly. Sollux flopped on his stomach, stretching out. "Guhhhhhh..." he mumbled softly.

Karkat straddled Sollux's legs, rubbing his back gently in a massaging motion. "Feeling any better?"

Sollux made a soft noise. "Yeah..." He felt like he was melting into the bed, smiling. "Guhhhh..."

Karkat kept massaging Sollux's back, gently stretching the muscles. "I'm glad. I remember you once commenting on my having 'amazing hands.'" Karkat laughed a little.

"You do." he said softly. Without even realizing it he started purring softly.

"You know... You're purring." Karkat smiled widely. "That's adorable."

Sollux flipped him off and continued purring softly.

Karkat laughed but kept massaging. "Is your back still hurting? I'm not going to do anything but I just want to know."

"Yeah." he mumbled, his throat purring louder. "Nnnnnnn... That feelth wonderful."

"I'm glad." Karkat smiled. "I don't know about you but I would love to cuddle right now."

Sollux cuddled up with him. "Yeah..." he said, snuggling his side. "Nnnnn..."

Karkat giggled as he felt Sollux's hair rub up against his neck and chin. "It's stupid how much I love you."

"Thame." he said, smiling. Rubbing his eyes. "I love you tho much."

"Don't cry you sappy fuck!" Karkat laughed.

"I'm not crying." he said, glaring at him. "I'm thleepy."

"Lies!" Karkat smiled. "I'm going to get something to eat. Do we get room service?" He asked shifting a little.

"Yeah I think." he said, frowning. "Look at the paper thing by the door."

Karkat kissed Sollux's cheek before getting up. He still couldn't believe that Sollux had gone through all the trouble of hacking not only the Disney World computers but the airports as well just to do this for him. He looked at the paper, grinning a little. "Room service is included in what you hacked."

"Awethome." he said, grinning. "Order away."

"What should we order? This menu is huge!" Karkat sighed sitting on the bed by Sollux.

Sollux pushed his glasses back on, looking at him. "Huh... I dunno." he got up, looking at the menu.

"Does anything sound appetizing? What's this fettuccini stuff?" Karkat asked. He still didn't know what a lot of human food was called.

"Yeah." he said softly, "It'th thomethorth of noodleth or thomething."

They finally decided on something to eat and called to order it. Karkat hung up and cuddled back against Sollux. "This is going to be a great week."

Sollux smiled, curling up next to him. "Mmm~" he hummed, kissing Karkat gently. "I love you tho much." he grinned, rubbing his head.

"You're the most amazing boyfriend ever. I hope you realize this." Karkat smiled.

"Yeth." he replied, smiling, holding him close. "KK, I love you more than anything." he said, grinning. "Kith me."

"You're such a dork but..." Karkat kissed him gently. "I love you too. So much." A knock at the door destroyed the rare moment of Sollux being romantic. "I'll go get it."

Sollux nodded. "Okay." he said, smiling, shifting around on the bed a little bit.

Karkat answered the door, letting the small woman into the suite. "Thank you." Karkat said taking the plates and making his way back into the suite. "Food?"

Sollux smiled, grinning. "Yes." he said, smiling.

Karkat handed him his plate and then crawled on the bed and started to eat.

Sollux munched down on his food. "I like thith." he said, finishing the plate almost in no time.

"Sollux, I don't really understand why you're trying to be so romantic all of a sudden but I love it." He smiled as he put the plate on the bedside table.

"Am I not allowed to try?" he asked, frowning, shaking his head. "KK..."

"I just said that I love it." Karkat said. "It just doesn't make a lot of sense because you don't really like romantic things... I know you're doing it for me but it's not something that you have to do." Karkat snuggled closer to Sollux. "You make me happy without being romantic."

Sollux smiled. "I'm glad, but I want you to be happy even when I am romantic." he shrugged his shoulders, smiling. "KK I love you tho much." he smiled, lifting Karkat's chin. "We'll hit up the park tomorrow. Can we thower and go to bed?"

"Yeah." Karkat smiled. "I want a kiss first though. If you don't comply then I'll have to jump you." He giggled.

Sollux grinned. "I like thith idea." he said softly, grinning as he pushed his lips against Karkat's gently.

Karkat smiled into the kiss. "Let's go shower. Or do you want to take a bath?" Karkat asked, getting off the bed.

"Doethn't matter to me." he replied, smiling a little bit. "Either ith fine. Probably a bath." he grinned. "I like bathth."

"I like that." Karkat started to pull his shirt off. "Do you want me to help you get undressed?" Karkat grinned pulling Sollux toward the bathroom.

"No." he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't need you to undreth me." he laughed.

"I didn't ask if you NEEDED me to take your clothes off. I asked if you wanted me to help you." Karkat smiled slipping his fingers under Sollux's shirt. "Totally not in a sexual way."

Sollux laughed. "Right." he said, smirking. He pulled his shirt off over his head.


	18. Chapter 18

"Aw... Come on.." Karkat pouted a little. "I hope you know that I was only half serious."

"I know, I know." he laughed, turning on the bath. "I want a bath. I want to thnuggle with you."

"You're so cute!" Karkat smiled, slipping his pants off in a slow, sexy way. "Are you sure about that?" He laughed.

Sollux grumbled, looking at him. "Are you trying?" he said, looking at him, grinning.

"Maybe." Karkat smirked as he climbed into the tub. "Come here."

Sollux stripped down, scooting close to him as he curled up in the bathtub, slipping into the hot water. "Mmmm~ Thith ith nice."

"Yeah." Karkat leaned back against Sollux. "Tomorrow is going to be lots of fun!"

"I agree." he said softly, grinning. "You're tho excited about thith huh?" he smiled.

"You have no idea!" Karkat smiled. "I can't wait for tomorrow! I am so going to get you to ride a rollercoaster with me!"

"Oh gog." he muttered, looking away, shivering. He scooted closer to Karkat, smiling as he leaned against him, kissing him gently. "I love you... And... If that meanth getting me on one of thoth... Weird contraptionth."

"Then you'll do it without a fuss?" Karkat smiled, kissing him back. "I wish we had a bigger bath tub at home. Doing things like this would be a lot easier."

"Yeah. We could get one." he said, smiling weakly. "I could try and get uth one." he shrugged his shoulders, smiling. "But I'll try." he replied, letting out a sigh. "Don't blame me if I get thick."

"You don't need to try and get us a bigger bath tub. It was just a passing thought." Karkat sighed. "I'll take care of you if you get sick. You should know this by now." He kissed Sollux gently.

"I know." he said, grinning. "I'll be fine at leatht for now." he said, smiling. "But that'th okay."

The pair cleaned up, moving and going to bed. Sollux woke up early getting dressed. He sighed quietly, pulling his jacket on. He looked down at Karkat, who was still asleep. "Mmm..." he crawled over him, pinning him down, gently purring as he nipped his neck. "Mmmmmm..."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah." Karkat moaned. "Sollux..." He looked up. "We're supposed to be going to the park today! Not this..." He sighed.

"I know." he said, licking the spot he had bitten. "It'th time to get up." he said, smiling. He licked his ear, grinning even wider, gently nibbling the top.

"Sollux... Stop... Aaaahn..." Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux's shoulders. "You're so mean... Teasing me like this..."

"Heh." he smiled, licking him again gently, "Come on." he whispered. "A little bit won't hurt." he grinned.

The only thing Karkat could do was nod. How could he refuse when Sollux had gotten him this flustered? "Only a little."

"KK, I love you." he kissed him gently, his tongue slipping into Karkat's mouth, parting his lips.

Karkat moaned into the kiss, his tongue meeting Sollux's. "I love you too." He whispered pulling back a little.

Sollux grinned, using his hands to gently move down Karkat's body. His hand found his sensitive spots. "Mmm~" he hummed, watching Karkat's reaction. "Good morning."  
>"Fuck you." Karkat moaned as Sollux's fingers traced over his sensitive spots. Karkat could tell by Sollux's grin that Sollux know how much he enjoyed it when he teased him like this.<br>Sollux grinned. "Yeah yeah, you withh." he smirked, pushing his lips against Karkat's gently, his hand moving faster. "Mmm~"

Karkat moaned, pulling Sollux closer to him. He wanted Sollux inside of him. He let his hands go down to Sollux's hips, pulling at his pants to try and bring him closer.

Sollux grinned, his hands shifting over Karkat's hips. "Mmm... We can't here... Now, but we can..." he slid his body down his, taking Karkat into his mouth.

"Aaaaah!" Karkat moaned. "Why not?" He whispered. "This is your fault you know!"

"I know." he said, grinning, licking his tongue over the head. "But we can't be in here all day fucking." he grinned widely. "Tho you have to take me too." he grinned. "Take me like your thign."

Karkat nodded. "I can't if you stay down there..."

Sollux grinned, using his powers to pull Karkat down the bed a little bit, squirming himself over Karkat. He moved his groin over Karkat's face. "Thuck." he said, pushing Karkat into his mouth, lavishing him with his tongue, sucking hard.

Karkat moaned as he brought Sollux out of his pants, taking him into his mouth. He let his tongue run over the slit before relaxing and taking Sollux as much as he could.

Sollux moaned. Good fucking morning indeed. He groaned, thrusting down into Karkat's mouth. At this point he didn't care. He sucked hard, his tongue sucking and lavishing, dipping one part of his tongue into the slit. "Mmmm~" he hummed.

Karkat started to hum as he sucked on one of Sollux's length, using his other hand to quickly stroke Sollux. He did his best to keep himself from bucking his hips up into Sollux's mouth.

"Nngh fuck..." he grumbled around Karkat's length, sucking hard, taking Karkat in as much as he could, attempting to relax his throat. He moaned, his throat humming.

Karkat pulled away from Sollux. "Fuck... Please... Just take me..." He moaned, letting his head fall back into the mattress. "Please Sollux..." He begged.

Sollux grinned, pulling back. "You want me or thomething?" he asked, looking back at him. "You'll be in pain." he grumbled, "Jutht one today okay?" he grinned. "I'll be rough." He shifted back off of Karkat, lifting his legs, slowly pushing one of him inside, smirking.

"I'm completely okay with that." Karkat moaned. "I want you to be rough with me."

Sollux grinned, slamming hard into Karkat, gripping his hips. "Nnngh~" he moaned, leaning over him. "After thith we are thowering, getting breakfatht and then getting down on thome theriouth park hopping okay?" he said, slamming into him once again.

Karkat nodded. "Harder!" He gripped Sollux's shoulder tightly as they moved their hips together.

Sollux slammed into him harder and harder until he felt himself tighten as he released into Karkat, panting as his let his hand stroke against himself and Karkat, crying out.

"Sollux..." Karkat whimpered, moving his hand to stroke Sollux. "I love you."

Sollux panted, his whole body shivering painfully. "F-fuck..." he cried out, his body continuing his release, filling Karkat and spilling onto Karkat's stomach. "Nnnghhh."

Karkat released onto Sollux's stomach. "Sollux..." He moaned.

Sollux grinned, running his hands over Karkat's chest. "Thower." he said, "Then park."

"Yeah." Karkat nodded, leaning up to kiss Sollux. "You are so amazing."

Sollux smiled. "I know." he picked himself up carrying himself into the shower. "Come on." he said, grinning, turning the water on.

Karkat got up and followed Sollux into the shower. "I love you." He smiled climbing into the shower. He rubbed his back a little. "Mmmmmmmmmmm. That was amazing."

Sollux washed himself, grinning. "Yeah of courthe." he said, grabbing Karkat's rear. "You're amazing."

"Hey!" Karkat jumped a little, almost slipping when he landed. "Don't..."

"Oh come on KK, you love me." he said softly, kissing him gently. "I love you tho much." he grinned, leaning into him, washing his hair and body. "Dreth cool."

"I love you too but that hurt..." Karkat pouted before grabbing the shampoo and scrubbing his hair. "You're so mean to me."

"I am not." he said, grinning. "You love me." he pulled him close, kissing him deeply. "KK... Don't deny it." he said softly, grinning.

"Not denying it." He kissed him back. "If we don't stop now then we'll never get to the park."

"I know." He smiled, grinning as he rinsed himself before turning the water off. He moved slightly from the shower, drying off.

Karkat grabbed the other towel from the rack wrapping it around his waist as he made his way into the main room to pick out his outfit for the day. "Shorts or jeans..." He made sure that he didn't move his clothes enough to show that he had hidden the cat costume that he had bought at the mall the last time they went on a date.

"I'm wearing jeanth." he said, digging in his bag, looking for his black jeans, pulling out his yellow and black striped shirt. "Don't mock me." he looked over at Karkat. "I wanna go to the zoo thometime." he said, pouting. "Maybe we can go."

"You just want to go and see the bees." Karkat mumbled pulling on the shirt of Sollux's that he had stolen.

"Yup." he replied, grinning. "That'th for thure." he grinned widely. "Making their hiveth and thit." he laughed.

"Nerd." Karkat smiled. He turned, holding his choker up to his neck. "Help?"

"Yeah." Sollux stepped over, gently using his slim fingers to fasten the necklace. "I like thith." he said, smiling, touching it. He flicked his own, showing his sign. "Maketh me happy."

Karkat got an idea. He would have to see if he could secretly find a Gemini and a Cancer necklace at one of the gift shops in the parks.

Sollux smiled, kissing him on the cheek. He pushed his glasses on his nose, digging for his sunglasses. "Don't call me lame okay?" he pushed his sunglasses over his glasses, looking at Karkat.

"Why would I call you lame?" He asked softly.

"I dunno." he quirked an eyebrow, smiling at him. "Come on." he said quietly. "Let'th go."

"Nerd." he smiled, grabbing Sollux's hand as they made their way out of the hotel and to the shuttle.

The pair made their way to the park. They moved through the park with quite some speed. Sollux grumbled as they made it to their first roller coaster. "Guhh... Thith lookth terrifying."

"You'll be fine." He smiled pulling Sollux close. "You can hold my hand on the ride if you want to."

Sollux sighed, frowning. "I might." he said, as they walked up to the ride. He sat down in the car. "Oh gog..." he muttered, clinging onto the bar for dear life.

Soon the ride was over and Sollux got off of the ride, shaking. He hurried to the nearest restroom, getting sick. "Okay I don't think I can do that again..." he grumbled, spitting. "Guh... Fuck."

"I'm sorry Sollux..." He rubbed Sollux's back gently. "I didn't think you'd actually get sick..."

He shivered, standing up. "I'm okay..." he coughed a little, sighing. "I... Didn't think I would either." he said, frowning, looking at Karkat. "I'll be okay... Let'th jutht... Pick thmaller ride okay?"

Karkat nodded. "How about we get you some sprite or water."

"Yeah." he said, washing over his face with cold water. "I like that." he said, walking out of the bathroom with him, sighing. His stomach hurt, but it wasn't horrible.

Karkat couldn't stop worrying. He was so worried that he couldn't even feel the pain in his back. "You sit. I'll go get you something to drink."

"Okay." he smiled, taking a seat at one of the benches as he watched Karkat head to the food stand.

The girl walked over, seeing Sollux by himself. "Hi... I'm Kristin. I... Think you're hot."

Sollux looked at her, blinking blatantly. "Uh." he said, looking up at Karkat, who obviously wasn't paying attention. "Thankth?"

"Would you like to hang out?" She asked. "I mean we can go around the park together. I'm sure your friend won't mind."

"My friend?" he laughed. "Oh you're tho funny."

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"Hey Sollux. I got you some sprite and fries." Karkat smiled walking back to the table. "Who are you?" He glared at her.

Sollux grinned. "Meet my boyfriend." he said, crossing his legs. "That workth. My thtomach ith thtill a little iffy." he took the fries and stuck one in his mouth, slowly sipping the sprite.

"Boyfriend?" She asked slowly.

"Yeah. We're dating." Karkat said sitting in the chair by Sollux. "That's why I got you fries. They should help to settle your stomach." Karkat said, rubbing his back.

"You're gay? Damn it."

Sollux laughed. "What? Do I look like I'm thupothed to be thrtraight?" he snorted sipping his drink a little. "Mm. Thankth KK."

"Yes. Ugh! Why are all the hot guys gay?" She threw her hands into the air.

"I don't know but he's mine and mine only." Karkat glared at her. "That means that you can leave now." He smirked at her before she turned on her heel and walked away.

Sollux sighed. "Ugh." he rolled his eyes, looking over at Karkat. "Why?"

"Mine." Karkat pouted wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist. "Now eat."

He slowly started eating, smiling all the while.

They spent the rest of the day walking around and riding small rides. Karkat was exhausted when they returned to their hotel room.


	19. Chapter 19

Hi awesome people who read this! Just want to say a few things. First off, I love you all and you make me happy! I can't tell you how happy I am when I get reviews on this! Secondly, The tumblr for my stories is up and running and I'm currently catching it up with both stories. The url is saphyre(.)tumblr(.)com so go follow! Again, I love you guys!

Here is Addy's tumblr! androgynousme(.)tumblr(.)com/

* * *

><p>The next day, the pair decided to go to the beach. Karkat ran back to where the pair had set up their towels, absolutely drenched. "Sollux! The water feels amazing!" He dropped down on the towel beside his boyfriend. "Best trip ever!"<p>

Sollux smiled. "Yeah." he said, leaning back. "Mmm... It'th tho warm..."

Karkat cuddled up to Sollux. "You are the best boyfriend that has ever existed or will ever exist." He laid his head on Sollux's chest. "Mmmmmmmmmmm."

Sollux smiled, keeping his eyes closed as he let Karkat lay against him, smiling. "Mmmmm..." he hummed quietly. "I love you."

"I love you too." Karkat snuggled against him. He smiled as a soft yawn escaped him. "I don't know about you but I believe that I am in desperate need of a cuddle nap."

"Yeah." Sollux smiled, curling up against him. "The thade ith tho nice." he pointed to the umbrella, smiling. "We can nap here."

"No. The room has air conditioning." Karkat sat up. "Come on."

Sollux grumbled, getting up. "Okay..." he grabbed his glasses, his towel and his flip flops. "Mmm..." he hummed, walking with him up to the room.

Karkat smiled up at him. "You know that the bed is much more comfortable than the sand. Plus this presents less of an opportunity for someone to steal your ipod." He stated as he opened the door to their room.

"True." he commented, sighing as he walked inside, flopping on the bed. He hadn't gone in the water. He had yet to tell Karkat he couldn't swim.

Karkat grabbed Sollux's towel using it to dry his hair. "I don't think we'll have time to go back to the beach but that was fun!" He flopped on the bed beside Sollux. "Did you have a good time sitting there while I swam?"

"We can go back tonight." he said, smiling. "Yeah. It was nice." he smiled brightly, grinning.

"I'm going to change and then we can nap." He kissed Sollux gently before getting up and sliding his trunks off, exchanging them for a pair of pajama bottoms. "What was your favorite part of the day?"

"Being with you?" he smiled, flopping back on the bed. "I don't know of another good part."

"You're good." Karkat smiled, snuggling back up with Sollux. "That was my favorite part of the day too!"

Sollux laughed. "Hahaha." he grinned, stretching out. "Gah... I'm thleepy."

"Me too." Karkat pulled the blanket over the two of them, falling into a nice sleep. A couple hours later, he woke up feeling Sollux's hands down his pants. "Sollux... Why are you..." He turned over, seeing that Sollux was still sound asleep. "Really?"

He breathed softly, his hands moving over Karkat's body. His mind raced, covering areas he hadn't explored before.

"Aaaaah." Karkat moaned, leaning into every touch and brush of Sollux's fingertips. 'I really should probably wake him up...' Karkat thought to himself. 'Wait... I could... Wake him up... with the cat outfit... I NEED TO CALL NEPETA!' He pulled away from Sollux and grabbed his phone, dialing Nepeta while digging through his suitcase for the costume.

Nepeta answered the phone with a soft whimper. "Hello?"

"I need you to tell me how to act like a cat. Don't ask questions just start talking." Karkat said as he pulled the costume out and running to the bathroom.

"Uh..." she tapped her chin. "But Karkitty... I don't know if you're that good at... Acting... But I'll tell you as much as I can."

"Did you say Karkitty? I can use that... Okay, keep talking." He set the phone down on the counter and put the speaker on as he changed into the outfit.

Nepeta told him all she really could. "Um... Just act... Cute? Is that even possible for you?"

"If you would tell me how then I could do it." Karkat listened to Nepeta's instructions carefully, even going so far as to say 'meow.' "When I say meow, should I tilt my head and raise my hand like you said earlier?"

"Maybe not the hand." she said softly, tapping her chin in thought.

"Okay. Well. I think I'm ready. Thanks Nepeta." Karkat hung up the phone, taking a few deep breaths before going back out into the bedroom and straddling Sollux's hips. His face turned deep red as he ran his hands over Sollux's chest. "Sollux. Wake uppurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."

Sollux grumbled softly, "En?" he blinked, rubbing his eyes. "Wh..."

"I'm your Karkitty. Meow." He said, tilting his head to the side.

Sollux blinked, looking at him, his eyes big. "Uh KK?" he asked, his eyes wide. "WH...What are you doing?" he didn't know whether to laugh or...

Karkat leaned down, purring a little. "I want you..." He purred before nipping at Sollux's neck.

Sollux made a soft noise. "KK..." he shivered, blushing darkly.

Karkat pulled back a little. "Do you not like this?" He asked softly.

He shook his head. "KK..." he gently pulled him into a kiss.

Karkat kissed him back. "You don't like it?" He pulled back, sighing. He had called Nepeta and even practiced being cute to get this to work. All he really wanted was for Sollux to dominate him.

Sollux laughed a little as they pulled apart from one another. "I just think it's funny that you're here doing thith for me when you know how much I love you already."

"Meow." Karkat glared a little at him. If the tail had been real, it would be flicking from side to side with Karkat's frustration. "I hope you realize it's your fault for groping me in your sleep..."

"I wath?" he laughed. "Oopth." he grinned. "Well... Get me ready then if you want me tho bad." he grinned, leaning back, parting his legs.

Karkat blushed crimson as he slipped his hands under Sollux's swimming trunks, bringing both of him out before sliding lower letting his tongue brush the lower of the two. He arched his back, trying to make himself look a little more cat-like.

Sollux let out a low purring noise. "Fuck KK..." he panted, looking at him.

Karkat purred as he brought Sollux into his mouth, gently kneading Sollux's thighs as he worked. He let his backside sway a little, making the tail move with his swaying.

Sollux panted, letting out a shuddered breath. "Fuck..." he curled his toes, letting his head fall back.

Karkat slowly ran his tongue up the shaft before directing his attention to the top erection. "Meow?" He looked at Sollux, his eyes wide in a cat like expression before he started to lavish this part with his tongue.

Sollux cried out, panting. "F-Fuuuuck..." he clenched his fists. "KK..."

Karkat pulled back, purring as he crawled up Sollux's body. "Meow?" He straddled Sollux again, looking at Sollux with a look of expectation. "I can't do all of this by myself..."

Sollux shifted lightly. "Ride me." he said softly, his voice soft.

Karkat leaned down toward Sollux's neck, purring as he kissed it gently, running his hands up Sollux's chest. "I need a little help first." He whispered.

Sollux tilted his head. "What would that be?"

"Fingerrrrrrs." He whispered, rolling his r's. He ran his tongue up Sollux's neck before nibbling on his ear. "I brought lube..."

Sollux grinned. "Then bend over." he smiled. "I don't feel like moving."

Karkat looked at him. "Where do you want me, master?"

"In front of me." he said, his grin getting wider. "Bent over."

Karkat's face turned bright red but he nodded and turned around, contemplating taking Sollux back into his mouth.

Sollux grinned, coating a finger in lube, sliding it into Karkat's waiting rear.

"Aaaahn." Karkat moaned, gripping the sheets in front of him.

Sollux grinned, quickly adding a second finger, moving both of them gently.

"You don't have to be gentle..." Karkat purred, looking back at Sollux. He shifted slightly, running his tongue up one of Sollux's shafts again.

"I want you to be able to walk later." he laughed, letting out a cry as Karkat licked him. "F-Fuuuh..." he bit down on his lip, shoving his fingers into him a little harder.

"I'll be fine." Karkat smirked, slipping his tongue into the slit. "You taste yummy." he said softly before taking Sollux into his mouth again.

Sollux gasped out, looking over at him. "F-Fuck..." he panted, shifting slightly. "Nngh..." he added a third finger.

Karkat moaned softly against Sollux, pushing his hips back into Sollux's fingers. "Mmmmmmmm."

Sollux fingered him hard before removing his fingers. "KK... Turn around and ride me." he whimpered. "I can't hold on for much longer."

Karkat pulled back, turning so he could ride Sollux. Slowly, he lowered himself onto the top most erection, moaning softly as he did so. "Sollux. Ahhhn." He sighed as he shifted a little.

Sollux cried out, moaning. "Fuck..." he bit his lip, grabbing Karkat's hips. "Do you want both?" he asked, his eyes dark.

Karkat nodded, shifting his hips up. "I want all of you..." He said softly.

Sollux helped him, gently holding onto himself as he slid himself into Karkat the rest of the way. They hadn't done it like this yet... And something about it felt amazing and tight. "F-Fuck..."

Karkat whimpered feeling both enter. "They feel bigger..." He whispered, holding on to Sollux's shoulders. "I like it..."

Sollux smiled, gently tilting his hips up. "Nngh... I'm glad." he said, moaning as he felt Karkat twitch around him.

Karkat leaned down, kissing Sollux gently. "I love you." He whispered as he shifted his hips up before letting himself drop.

Sollux cried out, panting. "F-fuck!" he gripped Karkat's hips tightly, thrusting up into him.

"Sollux!" Karkat cried out as he slammed down onto Sollux's hips again. "Oh gog..."

"Gog... Gog..." he panted, looking at Karkat with big eyes. "Please... Harder..."

Karkat brought his hips down harder. Crying out every time he came down on the twin erections. "Be rough with me..." He whispered into Sollux's ear, kissing down his neck. "Please, master."

Sollux felt his cheeks flush red. "KK, don't call me mathter." he felt a shiver of pleasure run through his body. "Nnnnghhh."

"But I'm your Karkitty. I have to call you master." He smirked, licking up Sollux's neck. "Besides, I kinda like it..."

Sollux shivered. "KK..." he slammed his hips up into Karkat as much as he could.

Karkat cried out, slipping his arms around Sollux. "Harder!"

Sollux gripped his hips tightly, digging his nails in. "Nnngh fuck..." he slammed his hips up as hard as he could.

"Sollux!" Karkat screamed as he released on their stomachs. He whimpered feeling Sollux pushing up into him. "Aaaaaaaaahn."

Sollux used his psionics to flip them over. He grabbed Karkat's hips and slammed into him, moaning and grunting as he finally came to his release, spilling inside him.

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux's shoulders. "Mmmmmm. I love you." He smiled as Sollux pulled out of him. "I'm taking this as you like the costume..."

Sollux panted, flopping down beside him. "Yeah." he said quietly, looking at him with big eyes. "Nnn... That... That was amazing."

"I'm glad." He kissed Sollux gently. "Better than your bee costume?" He smirked.

"I like my cothtume." he replied, pouting out his bottom lip.

"I do too but I'm not asking about the costume itself but more about the events that came with the costume." Karkat clarified his question as he snuggled up to Sollux.

Sollux grinned. "Mmmm." he said. "Yeah." He curled up next to him. "I really want to go outthide."

"Give me a few more minutes to rest." Karkat said softly. "I like it when you're rough with me."

"Mmm~" he grinned, stretching out.

"Before we go anywhere, I need to change..." Karkat mumbled as he sat up. He changed quickly into his swim trunks, pulling on a t-shirt.

The pair made their way out to the beach. Sollux looked almost terrified. Karkat had insisted that they wear their swim trunks out to the shore. It was cool, but not cold. Sollux sighed quietly, breathing in the salty air. It was peaceful… He just didn't like the fact that it was pitch black outside and only the moon and the few faint stars they saw were covering the sky.

"KK, thith ith kinda creepy." He admitted, looking out to what he perceived was the water. "Ith tho dark."

"We'll be fine!" Karkat smiled pulling Sollux a little closer to the water's edge. "Why don't you swim with me? Since you didn't earlier." He pulled Sollux close to him. "It'll be fun!"

"T-thwim?" he gasped, trying to push himself away a little bit. "I… I don't think that'th thuch a hot idea, KK." He said, his voice shaking a little bit. "Don't you know all thothe big creepy fith come out at night…?"

"We'll be fine if we stay close to the shore! I promise it'll be fun. Please, Sollux?" He pouted a little trying to get his way. "For me?"

Sollux bit his lip, looking at him. "Do… Do I have to?" he asked, squirming around a little. "KK, I don't think thith ith a good idea."

"It was your idea to come to the beach at night." Karkat pulled away, glaring slightly. "Please!"

"KK… I—I—I don't know." He said, squirming. All the while he was moving away from the water.

Karkat grabbed Sollux's wrist and pulled him into the water. "Ah! It's cold!" Karkat smiled, pulling Sollux until the water was up to his hips. "See. This isn't so bad!"

Sollux panicked. "GOG NO I CAN'T THWIM! I CAN'T THWIM! I'M GOING TO DIE!" he flailed, looking around wildly. He used his powers, lifting him out of the water, hovering right above the surface, a panic stricken look on his features.

Karkat looked up at him before waves of laughter consumed him. "So that's why you won't swim with me! Jegus Sollux, I can't believe that you don't trust that I won't let you drown." Karkat laughed. "Come down. You're safe. I promise."

Sollux shook his head violently. "No… No I'm going back to the thand where I'm thafe." He shivered, slowly trying to make his way back. His body was shaking and his powers were not being cooperative.

"Get your ass down here." Karkat hit the water with his hand. "I'm not going to let you drown! You don't even need to know how to swim to be at this level in the water. But if you insist on going back to the sand then I'm going where I want in the water." He turned, going under the water and swimming out further.

Sollux gasped, watching Karkat go under. "KK don't…. Don't, I don't want you to get hurt…" he bit his lip. "Ith tho dark out here." He quivered, slowly lowering himself into the water, cringing. The water lapped up over his stomach, making him cringe even more. "KK!"


	20. Chapter 20

Karkat popped up right behind Sollux. "BOO!" He wrapped his arms around Sollux to keep him from falling forward. "I'm fine."

Sollux jumped, gasping as Karkat wrapped his arms around him. "Nnnngh… Fuck you!" he growled, looking back at him. "Don't do that!" he shivered, turning and wrapping his arms tightly around Karkat, holding him close. "You thcared me."

"I said I'm fine." He snuggled into Sollux's arms. "Seriously. We're fine, just relax a little and I won't do it again." He looked up at Sollux. "Now give me a kiss."

Sollux nodded and gently kissed him, holding him close. "KK…. Pleathe… Don't." he frowned, feeling a wave wash up over his shoulders. "FUCK WHAT THE FUCK!" he turned around, another wave slapping him in the face.

Karkat laughed. "Keep your face toward me. I'll let you know when another wave is coming." He turned Sollux around to face him. "Breathe Sollux. Breathe. You're fine."

Sollux spat water, coughing. "Fuck…" he grumbled, pushing his glasses back on his face. "Nnngh." He rubbed his eyes a little, still tasting the salt in his mouth. "Yuck. Thith ith what Eridan tathteth like…. Ew."

Karkat stood on his tiptoes, kissing Sollux gently. "You're fine." He smiled. "Deep breath. When I count to three, hold it and close your eyes. 1... 2… 3!"

Sollux looked at him, his eyes wide. "W-wait what?" he was then plunged under water. He let out his air, flailing as he pushed back to the surface, his hair soaking wet around his face. He spluttered water. "KK!" he growled, looking at him, taking his glasses off and wiping at his eyes. "Fuck!"

"I warned you!" Karkat said from a few feet behind him. "You pushed me under and out!" He laughed, wading back over to Sollux. "Next time listen to me." He moved so he could watch the waves.

"I tried." He glared at Karkat, putting his water spotted glasses back on his face. "Nektht time tell me that you're going to do that." He grumbled, shaking his head as he pushed his hair from his eyes. "Aaagh."

"Do what?" Karkat asked. "I didn't do anything besides warn you and I told you that I was going to warn you when a wave was coming, like now. Deep breath. On 3, close your eyes and hold it."

Sollux nodded, closing his eyes tight, taking a deep breath. He felt the wave happen. It washed over him and all he could hear was the sound of the water rushing past his ears before he broke the surface again, breathing. "Nn…" He didn't want to admit to Karkat that this was actually enjoyable.

Karkat smiled up at him. "See, this isn't so bad." He reached up, moving Sollux's hair out of his eyes. "Ya know…. I like this look on you." He smirked.

"What? Me wet?" he laughed. "You're thilly KK, you thee me like thith on a daily bathith in the bath." He shook his head. He sunk down a little bit in the water, bending his knees so he was Karkat's height. "Mmm…" he hummed quietly, looking at him through dual colored eyes. "Karkat I love you." He whispered, feeling another wave wash over his head, taking him by surprise. "Fuck you too mother nature. Ruining my romantic rom com moment… Fuck…"

Karkat tried not to laugh but it was just too cute. "You are so adorable!" He wrapped his arms around Sollux's neck. "It wasn't ruined. I heard you and I love you too Sollux." He kissed his cheek. "Another wave is coming."

"Fuck." He grumbled, closing his eyes and taking a small breath as they were both pushed under water. Sollux couldn't help but open his eyes a little bit, seeing a blurry image of Karkat looking back at him. He let his breath out, watching the bubbles rise to the surface. Somehow it was relaxing. He could feel both feet on the sand beneath him. Time seemed to stand still until they both broke to the surface. Somehow Sollux felt relaxed and at peace. Something about the ocean and about Karkat being there made him relaxed. Maybe this wasn't so bad.

Karkat leaned up, kissing Sollux gently. "Do you understand now why I like the ocean and why I wanted you here?"

"Yeah…" he breathed, kissing him back. "I gueth thith ith why people find the ocean to be tho romantic." He looked at Karkat, what he could see of him at least, and gently pulled him close, hugging him against his chest.

Karkat looked up at him. "You're so sweet. I'm glad you had this idea. It's really romantic."

"Yeah." Sollux said, smiling.

Karkat got a brilliant idea. He kissed Sollux again as his fingers slipped under Sollux's shirt, peeling it gently from his skin. He pressed his tongue against Sollux's lips as he pulled it up further.

Sollux gasped, lifting his arms, letting Karkat's tongue slip into his mouth. He felt the shirt come off over his head. "KK… Jutht what do you think you're doing?" he asked, looking at him. "You'd better take that to thore… I'm not leaving it here…"

"Nothing special…" Karkat smirked. "I will take it to shore as soon as I claim these." He slid his hands under Sollux's trunks, pushing them down. "Going under for a moment." Karkat said before he disappeared and slipped the trunks the rest of the way off of Sollux. He stood back up, a wide grin on his face. "I'll be right back."

Sollux whimpered. "O… Okay…" he looked out after Karkat, watching him return to shore. "G-Guh, KK!" he cried out, watching him disappear into the darkness. "I…. Don't like thith." He shivered.

Karkat set the clothes down and hurriedly stripped himself of his trunks and shirt before making his way back into the water. Quietly, he waded back over to Sollux, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist. "Like it now?"

Sollux leaned against him, their bodies gently rubbing against one another. "Yeah." He said, leaning against Karkat. "I do."

Karkat smiled. "Turn around." He said softly, feeling Sollux move in his arms. "Skinny-dipping is nice, isn't it?" He smirked before kissing Sollux again.

Sollux smiled a little. "Yeah." He whispered. "It'th great for doing thtuff like thith." He said, gently reaching down, his fingers running against his thigh. "Mmm."

"Not what I had in mind but okay." Karkat smirked. "I was just trying to get you to be more okay with being in the water." He shivered as Sollux's fingers brushed a little closer to his groin. "What do you have in mind?" He asked softly.

"Well…" he smirked. "You promithed me that after Eridan…. Violated me, that you would reclaim me ath yourth." He grinned. He leaned down, kissing Karkat gently, letting his tongue gently slip between his lips, claiming Karkat's mouth.

Karkat met Sollux's tongue with his own before pulling back slightly. "I don't know Sollux… I mean…" He didn't know where to start. He was sure that Sollux didn't actually want to be bottom, even for him. There was also this annoying nagging in the back of his mind that told him that even if Sollux did want it, that he couldn't please him like Eridan had. "I'm not…" 'As big as Eridan…' his finished in his mind.

"KK…" he sighed, looking at him. "Do I look like I care about that?" he smiled. "I love you no matter what. Bethideth." He grinned. "Remember the bee cothtume?" he laughed. "That…. Wath amathing." He felt his cheeks turn pink. "You made me feel… Well… Like I had never felt before. Eridan fucking thuckth." He shook his head, laughing a little. "He fucking like…. Hurt me." He shook his head. "I thwear I couldn't walk after…. I never want to feel THAT pain again." He said, gently brushing a kiss on Karkat's lips. "Bethideth… I'm yourth remember?"

"He was supposed to. You told him kismesis…" Karkat sighed, looking up at Sollux. "I'm just… Self-conscious… After seeing how you reacted to Eridan. I know you're mine but… I just... I want you to feel pleasure with it…" He looked down at the water. "Do you really want it?"

"You think I don't feel pleathure with you? What am I? A robot?" he laughed, gently leaning against Karkat. "Are you thilly? Of courth I want it KK. You're mine and mine alone. And I'm yourth." He smiled. "Tho don't get your… Well… We're both naked tho that maketh no thence, but theriouthly." He smiled, lifting Karkat's chin. "Take me. I'm yourth."

"I love you." Karkat whispered. "I know you feel pleasure but I know that you don't like pain. I also know that it kinda hurts the first few times." Karkat kissed him, slipping his hands around to sit on Sollux's lower back.

"KK, I don't care." He smiled, gently kissing him back, biting down on Karkat's lip. "I want thith." He grinned, "Tho give it to me. Do I have to beg?"

"Beg? Maybe." Karkat grinned. "How bad do you want it?"

"Really fucking bad." Sollux replied, narrowing his eyes. "Really… Fucking… Bad."

Karkat let his hands fall over Sollux's ass, squeezing it gently. "Here or do you want to go back to the room?"

"I don't care." Sollux replied, smiling. "Here would be…. Interethting." he smirked. "Thomehow." He grinned wider, feeling Karkat grip him. "Mm. Come on now." He laughed.

"Spread your legs a little." He grinned as he started to rub Sollux's entrance with one of his fingers.

He shifted a little, parting his legs a little, being in the water made this a little difficult. He shifted his feet apart, looking at Karkat.

"You okay? You look like you're about to fall…" Karkat smirked, pushing his finger inside.

Sollux gasped and put his hands on Karkat's shoulders. "Nn…." He shifted slightly and leaned on him. "I'm fine. It'th the waveth." He smiled a little. "I'll be fine…. Nngh… Pleathe."

"Please what?" Karkat started to move his finger.

"Aaaaah that." He bit his lip, looking down at the water. It was so dark. He couldn't see anything but the faint illumination of Karkat's features. "KK, thith ith really kinky."

"No shit." Karkat smirked. "You like it?" He moved his finger faster before adding a second.

"Y-Yeth…" he panted, kissing Karkat's forehead. "Guh….." he spread his legs apart further. "Do you want me to turn around?" he asked, looking down at him, through half lidded eyes. "Or thould we move to the thore? Though I've heard that thex on the beach ith really painful."

"Depends on what you want to do. Do you want to stay here, where people can't really see what I'm doing or do you want to move to the beach, where there is more of a chance of someone finding us?"

Sollux thought for about a half second. "Here." He replied quickly, shifting against his finger, letting a long low moan escape from his lips.

Karkat nodded. "Turn around." Karkat said softly as he removed his fingers.

Sollux shifted, turning around, feeling the waves slowly slap against his chest.

Karkat slipped his fingers back into Sollux, gently adding a third. He moved his fingers faster, wrapping his other arm around Sollux's waist, pulling him closer.

Sollux wished at this present moment he had something to grab hold of. He moaned, hearing the sound of the waves crashing on shore. "Ngh fuck KK." He grumbled, shivering.

"Do you want it now?" Karkat pulled his fingers out of Sollux and pushed against him slightly.

"Y-Yeah…" he breathed, looking back at him. "Pleath KK…" he knew Karkat would ask, 'please what,' "Pleathe put it in."  
>"Okay." Karkat slipped the head of his erection inside before pushing his hips hard into Sollux.<p>

Sollux gasped out. "Oh fuck…" he cried, wishing desperately he had something to hold onto. There was nothing but the waves… And you can't hold onto water. He gasped, pushing back against Karkat.

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux, grabbing his hands. "Better?"

"Y-Yeth." He whispered, feeling Karkat filling him. "Gog KK… I… I've mithed thith."

Karkat thrust hard into him, nodding against his back. "Yeah." He whispered before a moan parted his lips. "Aaahn. This feels amazing…"

"Good." He said, grinning. "Come on…" he pushed back against him, crying out. "You can be rough with me too, KK."

"Do you want me to be rough with you?" Karkat asked. He watched as Sollux nodded in front of him. Karkat dug his feet into the sand beneath him a little, keeping him stable. He pulled almost all the way out before slamming hard into Sollux. He repeated the motion several times, each time a little harder. Every cry of Sollux's making him thrust harder.

Sollux cried out, whimpering as he felt his stomach tighten. He gasped as he released, feeling his own release swirl around him in the water. He grunted, grabbing hold of Karkat's hands tightly as he continued to thrust deep inside him. He felt Karkat release. Every moment was amazing. He felt his lover slid out of him. He felt Karkat gently holding him, kissing him. They walked back to the shore, dressing quietly, whispering sweet words to one another. The pair made their way back to the hotel room, striping down again. They showered and cuddled on the bed before falling asleep to the quiet sounds of breathing.


	21. Chapter 21

The vacation did last long enough. School had started and no one seemed ready for spring break to be thourhg. It had been a fews days since they got back. Karkat looked down at his phone, reading the message from James. "Meet me at the bio lab. I need to talk to you." He read aloud. "Wonder what this is about."

Sollux sighed, leaning against his locker. He looked into the bio room. James was beckoning him in. "What do you want?"

"I want you to leave Karkat." James said bluntly.

Karkat wandered around the school, trying to find Sollux so he could walk him out to the bus. "Where the hell is he?"

"What?" Sollux laughed. "Bullthit." he scoffed, leaning against the wall. He crossed his arms. "That'th thtupid."

"Why is it stupid? I want him and I want you gone. I could easily make your life hell." He smirked. "You do realize that I'm the one keeping everyone from picking on you. Plus, do you realize how much you are hurting Karkat's reputation? No one understands why he talks to you since you are a loser."

Karkat sighed, having looked in all the places that Sollux would be before deciding to meet up with James.

"Or I could make him leave you. He'll be here soon." He leaned in closer.

Karkat stopped in the doorway. He didn't have time to think about why James and Sollux were kissing because he took off in a dead sprint.

"KK loveth me and he hath known me for longer than you have even known him. He ith MY matethprit." He glared at him.

Suddenly, Sollux felt James' lips touch his. He heard the shuffling of feet from the door, and the turn of the corner. He shoved James off of him, waving his arms, letting his psionics do the work as he sent James flying across the room before he ran out of the door, running as fast as he could, using his powers to lift him off the ground, carrying him faster. "KK!" he shouted, tackling him to the ground.

"NO!" Karkat tried to pull away. "Stop it!" He put his hands to his ears, the scene playing over and over in his head. "Gog... No..." He started to cry even harder. "Why? Why would you do that to me?" He yelled.

"KK lithen to me." he grabbed a hold of his wrists, holding them in place as well as he could without using his powers. "KK..." he gripped them as tight as he could. "KK... That bathtard wanth me to leave you... And I don't even know why in the hell I would do that... KK I love you more than anything." he said, glaring at him. "Can you not thee that?"

"Why does he want you to leave me?" Karkat asked softly. "You're not going to, right? Please don't leave me! Please!"

"No... Why would I?" he touched his face. "KK..." he breathed. "KK... Why... Why would I?" he felt tears welling up in his own eyes. "You really think I would? Do you not trutht me?"

"I trust you with my life! It's just that... There are really pretty human girls here and we both know that James is a little cute and that most likely, none of them have anger issues like I do..." Karkat rushed. "I've never thought that I was good enough for you... I love you and I'm so scared of losing you... And I thought that I had..." He wrapped his arms around Sollux. "I love you so much."

"I love you too Karkat." Sollux never used Karkat's full name unless it was something really serious... And he deemed this very serious. "You are my matethprit for life... That doethn't change now." he said, glaring at him, his eyes narrow. He pulled him into a kiss, his lips brushing against him carefully. "Karkat..." he breathed. "Leth go home... Can we? Or can I go to boxing with you? I've got thome thteam I need to burn off." he said, looking at him. "I think I may have found mythelf out... I uthed them... A few minutheth ago."

"How did that not work?" James said, watching the two of them. "That should have worked..."

"I don't care... Just... Stay with me..." Karkat said softly before covering Sollux's ears with his hands. "As for you, GO THE FUCK AWAY!" He yelled. "You choose. Where do you want to go?" He asked after removing his hands.

"I want to go with you." he said, clenching his fists. "I have unsettled... Anger." he replied, closing his eyes, leaning against him.

"Do you want me to teach you how to box? It's actually kinda fun!" Karkat smiled, holding Sollux close.

"I want to uthe my powerth." he said softly, looking at him. "Badly."

"Just try not to destroy any of the bags..." Karkat smiled. "I want another kiss..."

Sollux leaned in, kissing him gently, before pulling back and helping him up. He sighed softly, wrapping his arms around him.

"I'm sorry..." Karkat whispered. "I was just so scared that I had lost you..." He buried his head his Sollux's chest. "I love you."

"I love you too." he replied, smiling. "Mmm..." together they walked out, heading towards the gym.

Karkat was happy that Sollux was keeping his arm around him as they walked. He leaned his head on Sollux's shoulder as they waited to cross the street to the gym.

Once to the gym, Sollux sighed, sitting down, trying to let his anger pent up.

"Let me wrap your hands." Karkat said softly grabbing the tape and one of Sollux's hands. "Your knuckles will be bruised when we finish..."

"I won't be using them." he said, grumbling softly.

"Then what are you planning on doing?" Karkat asked, cupping Sollux's face with his already wrapped hands.

"I'm gonna use my powerth." He said softly, looking at him, coating his hands in his psionics. "I'll get out my anger thith way." He sighed, getting up, taking his shoes off. "Can I?"

"I would still prefer you to wrap your hands so they don't question you." Karkat said quietly. "Plus it'll make me feel a little better."

"Alright." He said, letting his powers go back, sighing as he held out his hands for Karkat to wrap them. He liked it when Karkat touched his hands. It made him happy.

"Done." Karkat smiled up at him. "Now follow me. I'll take you to the bags but then I have to go meet up with my trainer."

"Okay." He said, standing up. He followed Karkat, standing shoeless in front of the bags. He concentrated hard, looking at the bag in front of him, grumbling. He coated his hands in his powers. He wasn't going to make contact with the bag at all. He threw the first punch, feeling the rebound against his arms. He kicked at the bag, gritting his teeth. People were staring but he didn't care. He kicked a roundhouse kick, slamming into the bag, knocking it slightly sideways as he came back with some strong punches. He stepped back, clenching his fists. This felt good.

"Karkat, you need to come watch this kid." One of the other boxers said. Karkat nodded and followed him. He stood, his jaw dropping as he watched Sollux kick and punch the bag.

"I officially have the hottest boyfriend in the world." Karkat smiled to himself.

Sollux beat out his anger as much as he could before sitting down, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Guh…" he breathed, clenching and unclenching his hands.

Karkat walked up behind him. "Here" He handed Sollux a bottle of ice cold water. "I have to get back but I wanted to give you this and tell you that I love you and you are so hot…" He kissed his cheek and jogged back to his trainer.

Sollux smiled a little, chugging back half the bottle of water. He sighed softly, looking at him. "Thankth." He said, smiling. "That'th nice to know."

Karkat got back into training mode, punching and moving as he had been taught. He dodged the few punches that his trainer threw at him.

Sollux watched him, smiling. Somehow he knew he was stronger…. To an extent. He had his powers to blame for that. He smiled, chugging back the rest of the bottle, going back to beating up the bag.

After a couple hours, Karkat's practice was over and he went into the locker room to change back into his jeans and t-shirt. He wondered if they were going to tell him when his match was. "Sollux… I almost forgot you were here…" Karkat smiled. "Let's go home. I could use a shower and cuddle."

Sollux smiled, unwrapping his hands. "Yeah. Thame." He smiled, standing up, taking Karkat's hand.

Karkat lead Sollux back to their apartment, dropping his backpack on the couch. He stripped himself of his clothes as he made his way back to the bathroom. "My body hurts…"

Sollux gently reached out and touched him, smiling slightly. "I'll give you a back rub." He said, gently giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Leth go thower and lay down."

"I like this plan." Karkat smiled, turning around wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist and running them up his back. "What is that?" Karkat asked, feeling raised skin on Sollux's back. "Turn around."

Sollux felt his cheeks darken, as he turned around, pulling his shirt up. He had long raised scars along his spine and along his hips. "Yeah…." He whispered quietly. They felt like they were on fire. He winced a little bit, frowning.

Karkat gently ran his fingers along the scars. "Where did these come from?" Karkat asked quietly.

"I think they came in during the transfer…" he said softly. "I had some from back on Alternia…. From my ancethtor." He bit his lip, looking down. "They hurt…" he whispered, wetting his lips as he looked at Karkat, tears in his eyes. "I'm…. Athamed of them." He whispered, looking at Karkat, blinking as tears fell down his cheeks. "Ith why I couldn't… Well… Wouldn't take my thirt off at dithney." He let his finger trail slightly down the front of his stomach, pulling down right above his groin. "Here too."

"Sollux…." Karkat hugged him. "I love you." He whispered. "I was worried that someone had hurt you….." He wrapped his arms a little tighter.

Sollux shook his head. "No." he whispered, holding him back gently. "I wathn't hurt." He replied, gently petting his hair. "My anthetor wath…. But not me." He let out a gentle sigh. "Ith a thad thtory… But leth thower. Thchool tomorrow… Remember?" he said softly, walking to the bathroom.

"Yeah…" Karkat nodded, pulling back before leaning up and kissing Sollux's cheek. "I'm glad you're okay." Karkat pulled away completely and got into the shower after letting the water warm up. "Is this what you were going to talk to me about when we went bathing suit shopping?"  
>"Yeah." He said softly, grabbing the shampoo. "It wath. I'm thelf conthiouth about it." He said, rubbing his eyes, yawning big. "I'm exhauthted."<p>

"I bet. Do you remember the first two weeks that I was boxing? I came home, showered, fixed dinner and then passed out." Karkat smiled. "Even with the scars, I think you are the sexiest person on the planet. And you're all mine." He grinned.

"Awww…." He blushed. "Thankth." He said softly, pouting. "You're too thweet to me."

The pair showered, ate, and fell asleep, heading to school in the morning. Sollux yawned, sitting against the window.

Karkat leaned against Sollux as he slept. He had had a nightmare the night before, reliving James kissing Sollux over and over in his mind.

"Mmmm…" Sollux gently wrapped his arm around Karkat tightly, holding him close. "KK…." He smiled as he held Karkat close, rubbing his hair.

Karkat cuddled into Sollux, shifting into the touch.

* * *

><p>Tavros was doing so much better. He didn't need his crutches anymore. He sat with his legs crossed on the bus, smiling as he leaned against Gamzee, yawning big.<p>

"You're so mother-fucking adorable Tav." Gamzee whispered, bringing his arms around Tavros' shoulders.

Tavros smiled, rubbing his eyes. "I'm gonna play a little bit of Frisbee today in uh…. Gym today." He smiled.

"I'll probably play basketball with Karbro." Gamzee said. "Unless you want me to play with you." He kissed the top of his love's head.

"I can try and play a little bit of basketball today." He said. "I just can't jump and I can only do a little bit of running. I don't have the proper leg pieces for running yet, but I will soon!" he smiled, gently taking Gamzee's hand.

"I can play Frisbee with you, Tav. I don't mind." Gamzee smiled. "We can play basketball when you get the new pieces."

"Okay." He smiled brightly. Leaning against Gamzee, he felt comfortable and warm. "Mmm…" he stretched his arms, getting up as the bus came to a stop.

Classes went through the day with ease until Tavros got to gym. He smiled. It felt wonderful to be able to walk. He got the Frisbee out, holding onto it.

Gamzee stood opposite Tavros. "I'm ready Tav!"

Karkat ran around, playing basketball with most of the other boys in the class. He had to pass James to get to his team. He didn't see the foot in front of him but he did see the wicked smile on James' lips. Pain. Pain exploded through Karkat's leg as he fell to the ground. He pulled his leg up to his chest, whimpering as tears fell down his cheeks.

"Holy shit!" Gamzee ran over to Karkat. "Get away from him."

Tavros gasped, hurrying over to him, trying not to fall as he walked over to Karkat. "Karkat!" he gasped out, bending down gently, touching his arm. "Are you okay?" he looked up, seeing James having a wicked grin on his face. "What…what the hell!" he rarely cursed. He clenched his fists. "Why are you laughing? Is this funny?"

James looked down at the group, the smirk still on his face as he walked away.

"Fuck…." Karkat whimpered.

"I'll take him to the nurse." Gamzee said as he picked Karkat up. "Tav, tell Sollux when you get out of class."

"Will do." He said, looking at him with big eyes. "I'll tell him." He swallowed hard, wringing his hands, fighting back tears. He bit down on his lip, standing up. "Y-You!" he glared and pointing at James. "You… You…." He clenched his fist. "You're gonna get into some serious trouble you hear me!"

"Whatever." James said.

Gamzee carried Karkat to the nurse's office.

"What happened?" She asked. "Set him here." Gamzee explained what happened with James tripping Karkat. She felt Karkat's ankle gently.

Karkat winced. "What's wrong with it?"

"It's sprained but it's a bad sprain. I'll wrap your ankle but I want you to go home early. Gamzee, can you take him home?" Gamzee nodded.

"Can do."

"Whatever?" Tavros said, taking a bold step forward. "You hurt him and that is not a good thing at all! You're a horrible person!"

Gamzee carried Karkat back to his apartment. "I'll stay with you until Sollux gets home. Tav will let him know what happened." Gamzee set Karkat on the couch. "Is there anything you need?"

* * *

><p>Karkat nodded. "If you go into our room, there is a bee blanket, pillow and a plushy. I want those and a pair of pajama bottoms from the yellow dresser." He wriggled his jeans off his hips.<p>

Sollux sighed, sitting outside.  
>Tavros came up to him. "Sollux…. Karkat and Gamzee went home early…. I'll tell you everything on the bus." He said. The pair got onto the bus, and Tavros told Sollux everything. Sollux's powers flared brightly. He glared at James as he got onto the bus.<p>

Karkat had fallen asleep on the couch, waiting for Sollux to get home.

Gamzee sat on the floor by the edge of the couch, watching a movie and eating a slice of pizza.

Sollux and Tavros walked into the apartment. "Karkat!" Sollux ran in, falling to his knees, gently petting Karkat's head. "Oh baby….." he breathed softly, running his fingers through his hair.

Karkat woke up. "Hey Sollux!" He smiled softly. "How did your math test go?"

Sollux shrugged. "Fine." He said, gently petting his hair. "I don't care about that…" he looked down at his ankle. "Karkat…." He bit his lip, frowning. "Thith…. Thith ith not…. Acceptable." anger crossed his features like it never had before.

"I'm fine. Really." Karkat said softly, cupping Sollux's face in his hand. "Now give me a kiss and call me baby again. I liked that." He smiled.

"Tav, let's go home. These two need time together." Gamzee wrapped his arms around Tavros' waist.

"He will pay." He said, gently kissing him carefully.  
>Tavros smiled, nodding his head as he walked with Gamzee out of the apartment.<p>

"It was an accident." Karkat said softly. "It doesn't matter."

"I doubt that KK." Sollux glared. "Tavros told me that he was grinning like a mad fool." He said, his voice dangerous.

"You think he did it on purpose? Why would he do that?" Karkat sat up a little. "Unless it was to hurt us… But he knows that we're not going to break up."

"Because ith not right and he hateth uth." He growled. "I'm going to beat the thit out of him." His powers flared brightly, wrapping around his hands.

"Wait. I don't want you fighting Sollux." Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux's shoulders. "How about you come up here and cuddle with me? I love you Sollux but right now I need you to take care of me."

"I know…. I know…" he sighed softly, looking at Karkat, his anger dulling. He climbed onto the couch, sighing softly. "KK…" he breathed. "I'm not going to let him do thith to you and get away with it."

"Shut up and cuddle with me. The only things you're allowed to say is 'I love you' and anything sweet that ends with 'baby'." He smiled. "Think you can do that?"

Sollux grumbled. "Do I have to?" He snuggled against Karkat, purring into his ear, holding him close. "I love you…. But baby thith ith not right and I thwear I'm going to do it, you can't thtop me."

"Fine, but wait until I can be there in case you need me." Karkat pouted. "I really do like you calling me baby. It's cute." He smiled up at Sollux.

Sollux nodded, curling up behind him. "Nnn…" he hummed. "I know…. I love you."

A couple days later, Karkat returned to school with a slight limp. "Sollux… Can you carry my back pack for me? It's heavy…"

"Yeah." He grabbed the backpack, gently slinging it over his shoulder with his own, sighing. "You okay?" he looked over at Karkat, his head tilted.

Karkat nodded. "It's just heavy and it hurts my ankle." He sighed softly. "I'm not excited about getting on the bus… Stairs are evil right now. By the way, thanks for using your psionics to help me down the stairs from the apartment."

"You're welcome." He smiled. "I bet. I'll try and help you ath much ath I can today, okay?" He smiled. They passed by James' locker and Sollux dropped a note into the metal grating.

"Is that the challenge?" Karkat asked, looking over at Sollux. "I don't really want you to do this but I know I can't stop you…." He frowned.

James got to his locker a few minutes later, seeing the note. "Park after school. Be prepared to die, Captor."

"I'm ready." Sollux said, sitting out by the bus after school. "Leth go." He said softly, looking at him. He followed Karkat towards the park nearby.

Karkat walked beside Sollux, wanting to hold his love's hand. He sighed quietly as they arrived at the bench that they had told James to meet them by. "You guys didn't really have to come." He looked at the other ex-trolls that went to school.

"We're not going to let you two stand alone with James bringing 4 football players with him." Gamzee said holding Tavros close. "If it breaks out into a big fight, I want you to leave Tav."

Sollux sighed quietly. "I don't care. I can do thith." He said softly, blinking his eyes at Karkat. "I'll be fine." He said, seeing James and 4 others come into view.

"I'm just worried…." Karkat said softly. "I just don't want you to get hurt because of me." He sat down on the bench, hoping that Sollux would use his powers to give himself a bit of an advantage over James.

"Are you going to use your freaky voodoo shit on me today Captor?" James said, looking Sollux in the eyes.

"Heh." Sollux smirked, looking at him. "What are you talking about?" He rolled his eyes, slouching a little, his hands balled into fists.

"That voodoo shit that you used to make me fly back a few days ago." James said. "Or are you going to fight me like a man? Maybe we should have Karkat fight me instead."

"Fuck you! Sollux is a lot stronger than you think." Karkat smirked, seeing the light blue and red swirl around him.

Sollux growled. "You do know why you're here right?" he said, glaring at him, his eyes flaring. He saw Terezi pick up on the scent, and look a little nervous. Tavros shifted, looking at them. Something was up.

"Because I accidentally tripped Karkat?" James said crossing his arms. He hadn't told his friends that he had kissed Sollux in an attempt to break Sollux and Karkat up. "I told you that it was a fucking accident."

"Accident? Do you normally grin after you've cauthed thomeone an accident?" he glared. "And do you kith your enemieth too?" he growled. "I can thtill tathte the groth tathte of your lipth on mine you filthy fucking freak." He shouted, his eyes flaring bright.

"Did your friends not know that you were trying to break me and Sollux up?" Karkat yelled.

The guys behind James looked around at each other for a moment before looking back at the group of ex-trolls.

"I don't know what you're fucking talking about. I'm not gay." James said.

"That's why you were having sex with our biology teacher, Mr. Jones? Sounds gay to me…" Karkat smirked.

Sollux burst out laughing. "WOW." He glared. "Kithing me too." He said, glaring at him. "I'd thay that wath preeeeeetty gay." He threw his arms up. "I mean, you thay that you want KK, but you know for a fact you're not getting him. Why don't you tell your little 'friendth' about your gaynethh huh?" he smirked.

"You swore you would never tell Karkat!" James yelled.

"Well, you threatened my boyfriend and kissed him. I would say all promises are off." Karkat said. "If you think you can beat Sollux then hurry up and start fighting. I'm tired."

Sollux opened his arms. "Come on. I'm thure ath hell not gonna thtart thith. If you're gonna, then come on." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm thkinny but I can beat you."

James couldn't take anymore. He screamed as he ran toward Sollux, swinging his fists.

Sollux grinned, leaping back. He coated his hands with his powers, throwing a punch at James' stomach, knocking him back. He watched as he got up. Sollux leaped up into the air, spinning around and drop kicking his back, landing on his hands, flipping over, glaring at James.

James swung, missing at first but then hitting Sollux in the jaw. "Heh…" He smirked. "So you are using your voodoo shit."

Sollux spit blood, sporting a bloody lip and a bruised cheek. "What do you expect?" he asked, glaring at him with dark eyes. "It maketh me thtronger than you doethn't it? I could do tho much more, but I'm taking it eathy on you…. Unleth you want to die here…"

Karkat smirked. "Sollux, make me fly!" He smiled. "I want to fly."

Sollux looked back at Karkat. "What..." he breathed, looking at him as he leaped back, avoiding another attack from James. "Not here."

"Fine." Karkat sighed.

"What the hell do you mean by fly?" One of James' posse asked.

"Exactly what I said." Karkat said.

James spun around quickly, tripping Sollux before jumping on him and starting to punch at Sollux's face.

"Sollux!" Karkat yelled.

Gamzee put his hand on Karkat's shoulder. "He's fine."

Sollux cringed, using his powers to throw James into the air, leaping up, kicking him down, hearing the air escape his lungs. "I told you not to underethtimate me." He spit more blood, wiping blood from his lips. He stood over James, using his powers to hold him to the ground. "I told you not to. And you didn't lithten."

Karkat sighed a breath of relief.

James looked up at Sollux. "Do I threaten your relationship with Karkat so much that you have to fight me to prove to him that you're worth his time? Is that why you insisted on this?"

"No" He said, glaring at him. "You hurt Karkat. He will never ever leave me. Matethpritth never will leave each other unleth we are ripped from each other. We will never ever leave one another... And you thtepping in front of uth like you are, you can't." He spat to the side. "You can't becauth our blood runth deeper than yourth." He grinned. "Underthtand?"

"Matesprits for life." Karkat smiled.

"What the fuck does that even mean?" James asked. "You two are boyfriends and you can be broken up." He pushed Sollux off of him. "You two are fucked up in the head if you think that you will stay together forever."

"Ith only becauthe your thmall human brain can't underthtand it." He smirked. He saw Terezi visibly cringe. "Now." He said, cracking his knuckles. "Thall we continue until you get the point?"

"What point?" James asked. "I'm pretty sure that everyone now knows that you two are queers." James threw a punch, missing. "Dammit."

Sollux grabbed his wrist, turning it backwards, holding his arm in place. "The point is that you need to thtop bugging uth." He smiled. "I don't want you to thit here and bug uth trying to get in our way. Theek thomeone elth." He said, growling.

"In other words, leave us the fuck alone!" Karkat yelled.

"It's not my fault that Karkat has a nice ass." James smirked.

"And my body is Sollux's." Karkat said.

"If I agree then will you let me go?" James asked.

"Maybe." Sollux said, glaring at him. "I don't want you to purthue any of uth okay?" He let out a jagged breath, letting go of James' arm.

"I don't want any of you besides Karkat." James said. "I still don't think you can handle him."

"Sollux? Not be able to handle me? He's known me my entire life." Karkat smirked.

"Ever thince I wath a grub." He smirked. "We went to thchool together. We've grown up together. We will die together." He smiled. "Tho don't get in the way."  
>Tavros smiled. He was cowering behind Gamzee, holding onto him tightly.<p>

"It's okay Tavbro." Gamzee put his hands over Tavros'.

Karkat walked over to Sollux, limping a little. "Sollux is the most important thing to me. He's the only one that I want to be with and he's the only one that I'll ever be with." He smiled up at Sollux. "What we feel for each other is something that you could never understand."

"You two don't make any sense. How can you guarantee that you will stay together forever? You can't!" James yelled.

"What maketh you thay we won't?" he smiled, leaning back against Karkat gently, sighing softly. "All of my frienth here agree. They know what a matethprit meanth. They know who I am."

"Because, Karkat is sexy and will one day figure out that you aren't worth his time." James said. "You don't deserve him!"

"Terezi knows how long I wanted to be with Sollux before we got together. He means everything to me and he's the only one that makes me happy." Karkat smiled. "I don't deserve someone as amazing as Sollux but I'm what he wants and that makes me so happy."

"I want to be with Karkat for a long long time." He said softly, blinking. "I want... Nothing but to make him happy." He glared at James. "Jutht becauth he'th thexy doethn't mean that he can't be mine." He laughed.

"You're so cute!" Karkat smiled, snuggling into Sollux. "If you think that you are better for me than Sollux, then tell me how much you know about me." Karkat glared at him.

"I know that you have anger issues and are slightly violent. I know that I can handle it if you were to snap."

"I can too." Sollux said, grinning. "He won't lay a hand on me." He retorted, grinning. "He won't hurt me at all... Bethideth. I can stop him in mid movement."

"Can I fly now?" Karkat asked softly. "Just because you think you can handle my mood swings doesn't mean that you know anything about me. Sollux knows everything, literally."

"Like what?" James asked. "Tell me! What don't I know?"

"Well..." he laughed. "Karkat liketh all of me." He grinned, looking at him. James looked confused. He stuck out his tongue, showing both sides of his bifurcated tongue.

Karkat's face turned red at the sight of Sollux's tongue. He buried his face in Sollux's shoulder as pervy thoughts ran through his mind.

"Why is he reacting like that to your freaky tongue?" James asked.

"Becauth I can pleathe him like the betht." He grinned, looking at James. "Jutht face it. I'm that much better than you... In everything."

"You mean... He's the bottom?" James asked.

"Yeah. So?" Karkat said. "Sollux is amazing! And so is his tongue. Wait... Why am I talking?" he pushed his face back into Sollux's shoulder.

"Pffffft." He laughed at James' face. "Hah. Doeth the thought of me being top dithgutht you?" he laughed brightly, clenching his fists. "You're thilly. Thath for thure."

"But he's so much more... Why is he?..." James couldn't think.

"Because it was what I wanted. Sollux is actually a lot... More confident in his movements than I am and he knows how to please." Karkat smiled.

Sollux smirked. "I think we're done here." He shifted, taking Karkat by his hand, gently. He walked away from the circle.

James stood there, watching as the couple walked away.

"I love you." Karkat smiled up at Sollux, putting his hand on Sollux's shoulder. "By the way, what do you want for dinner tonight?"

"You." He said, smiling. "After I get cleaned up though." He pouted, sighing, rubbing his eyes. "I'm tho tired... And I hurt."

"You know you just said you want sex right?" Karkat smiled. "I'm okay with that but you just said you were hurting. Maybe that should wait." He wrapped his arms around Sollux. "Seriously though. What do you want for dinner?"

"I don't care." He shrugged, as they walked towards the bus. He sighed quietly. "Can we call EQ?" he sat down, holding his face in his hands. "My head hurts."

"Yeah." Karkat grabbed Sollux's hands, pulling them away before kissing his forehead gently. "I'll call him, you just sit down." Karkat pulled out his phone and dialed Equius as he rubbed Sollux's back. "We're at the park by the school, can you come get us? You have to pick Nepeta up? Okay. Thanks." He closed to phone, sitting down beside Sollux. "He'll be here soon."

"Okay." He said softly, whimpering. "My head is killing me." He whimpering. "Guh..."

"Are you going to be okay?" Karkat asked softly.

"Yeah." He said softly, whimpering. "I'll be fine." He whispered, looking at him. "My head just hurts kinda bad." He bit his lip gently, "Maybe I have a concuthion."

"That sucks." Karkat leaned against him gently. "Maybe we should take you to the hospital..."

"No... I think... Well..." he felt another wave of pain go through him. "Yeah..." he muttered. "At leatht to get me checked out..." he held his head, sighing. He began humming a soft lullaby.

Karkat nodded. "Where did you learn that lullaby? I know I've heard it somewhere before." Karkat didn't get an answer because Equius pulled up in front of them. Karkat went up to the door. "Can we take Sollux to the hospital? I want him to get checked out from the fight..." He asked Equius.


	22. Chapter 22

"That's fine." Nepeta answered. "Right?" She smiled at Equius and he gave into her wishes.

"Thanks."

"I don't know." He whispered, frowning. They arrived at the hospital. Sollux was treated for a mild concussion, given some pain meds, and some Band-Aids. He didn't need stitches, which was wonderful.

"No more fights." Karkat said, pulling Sollux close. He had been so scared when they said that Sollux had a mild concussion. "I love you."

Sollux blinked at him, smiling. "I'll be fine." He said, purring softly as they got back into Equius' van, heading back to the apartment. Sollux sighed softly. "I'll be fine." He laid down in the bedroom, his eyes dark. "Guh..." he rubbed his temples. "Thith thuckth." He bit his lip gently. "Did... Did I do okay?" he asked, blinking as he looked up at Karkat. "I... Didn't disappoint you did I?" he asked, his voice soft and shaky, tears rolling down his face. He felt like he had done something wrong.

"Disappoint me? Sollux, what are you talking about?" Karkat cuddled up to him. "You could never disappoint me. I'm happy that you fought for me but I didn't want you to get hurt and that happened. It scared me when he hit you..." Karkat snuggled close to him. "I love you."

"I'm fine." He said softly, purring quietly, holding onto him.

Days passed. Weeks. It was almost time for graduation. Students filled out college applications and everyone got ready to take their final tests. Sollux felt panicky as the time got nearer. He felt himself not sleeping well at night because of it. He shivered and shook as the thought of leaving the school got near.

Finally it was the week before.

Sollux had almost completely shut down. The idea of going off to college frightened him, and he wanted almost nothing to do about it. He had learned how to drive a little from Equius, and he had been saving for a car. He hadn't told this to Karkat, so when he rolled up to the apartment in a new car, Karkat was shocked and gave him a little lecture, but overall was happy. Sollux smiled. The black and gray car matched both of their personalities, the black being part of Sollux's yellow and black favoritism and the grey being part of Karkat's personality. He had gotten his license between the weeks of spring break being over and graduation coming up. It was a sort of present to both of them… And something that Sollux was happy about. He grinned about it almost daily as they drove places after school was out. Sollux felt at least a little bit independent. Deep down inside, he knew that Karkat had wanted to go to cooking school nearby, which was wonderful. He knew that Karkat had a great ability… One that he obviously didn't have, but he had enough to get by. Karkat wanted Sollux to go to college… He had mentioned it on several occasions. Sollux though, being as timid as he was about new surroundings, was having enough anxiety just preparing to graduate. He was graduating at top of his class, with a perfect GPA, and could get into any college around the area. He was still nervous about it though, and didn't want to push it. He decided he would take the summer to decide, and by the end of the summer he was going to make his decision.

Karkat had already gotten accepted into the local cooking school with his test scores and grades. Sollux felt a little bit to blame for the good grades, helping Karkat with his homework and studying. He felt accomplished.

As the graduation day came, everyone donned their school graduation robes. Gamzee and Tavros were among several who looked rather goofy in their robes. Tavros was excited that he was going to be able to walk down the aisle to graduation rather than be pushed by Gamzee. It was something he had been waiting for… For a long time. Sollux sighed, being valedictorian, having ribbons for having perfect test scores, straight A's, near perfect attendance, and several awards based on his computer skills. Karkat had a few ribbons and tassels, but Sollux had almost all of them. He looked like an overachiever. James stood back in the crowd, wearing his cap and gown, almost jealous at the plenty of ribbons and tassels that Sollux had on his robe. They lined up like they had in practice, which made Sollux nervous, because he was near the front and far, far away from Karkat.

They walked out to that stupid song, which stuck in Sollux's ears even after the ceremony was over. They took their seats. The speeches seemed to go on forever before names were called.

"Sollux Captor."  
>He stood, walking to the podium, getting that silly piece of paper, getting his picture taken, for whatever reason, and heading back around, sitting down holding the piece of paper in his lap, like the rest of the 300 something people had.<p>

"Gamzee Makara."

"Tavros Nitram"

"Terezi Pyrope"

Now this one was interesting. Sollux watched as poor blind Terezi made her way to the podium, cane in hand. She was helped onto the podium by some nice hand, and helped to get her piece of paper and walk back around to her seat.

"Karkat Vantas"

Sollux felt so proud at this moment. Watching Karkat walk up to the podium with his wide stride and slight scowl, made him smile brightly. He felt a warmth inside his chest. He watched Karkat move around the stage, come back, wink at Sollux and then go sit. Sollux couldn't wipe the grin off his face as they moved and left. This was a wonderful feeling.

After graduation, they picked up their actual diplomas. Sollux smiled and hugged Karkat tightly, holding him close. "I love you tho much." He grinned, taking his hand. "Tho… Tho much. I'm tho proud of you."

"You helped!" Karkat smiled, hugging Sollux tightly. "I love you too dorkwad." He looked up at Sollux, asking with his eyes for a kiss.

Karkat had started his cooking classes a few days after graduation. He hated leaving Sollux at the apartment by himself. A couple months into his classes a messenger came in looking for him.

"Karkat Vantas? They need you in the dean's office." The teacher said after the messenger left.

"Okay…." Karkat put his knife down and washed his hands. He made his way to the office and knocked on the door.

"Mr. Vantas?" She asked.

"Yes… Did I do something wrong?" Karkat asked walking in.

"No. We have a proposition for you. How would you like to spend a year in Italy, learning to cook under one of our graduates?" Karkat's eyes went wide.  
>"Can I have a night to think about it? I'm grateful for the offer but I need to consult my boyfriend before I do anything…" He admitted. She nodded.<p>

"If you accept, you will be leaving on August 5th. We are offering you a full scholarship, airfare included." She said. "I await your decision."

Karkat nodded and went back to his classroom. As soon as his class was done, he ran out into the parking lot, finding Sollux's car.

"Sollux! I need to talk to you!" Karkat gasped as he got into the car.

Sollux blinked. "That… Thoundth bad." He said quietly, looking at him, leaning back in his chair a little bit. "Nn…. Whatth up?"

"They want me to go to Italy for a year for school! They even offered to pay for it all!" Karkat said quickly.

Sollux blinked. "Uh..." he shifted a little in his chair a little.

"It's okay if you don't want me to go. I can turn down the offer." Karkat said softly. "Italy is really far away and for a whole year..."

"No... I… I mean..." he bit his lip. This was a trial. He swallowed. "If you want to go, then go."

"Sollux... Tell me what you really want me to do..." Karkat whispered. He wanted Sollux to tell him not to go. He wanted Sollux to say that he needed him...

"Itth your life, KK." he said softly, blinking slowly. He didn't want Karkat to go... He didn't think he could live without him. Something about it just made him upset.

"Oh..." Karkat couldn't believe it. Sollux didn't care if he went off to Italy for a year. "I'll tell the dean tomorrow."

"Okay." he smiled. "I'm happy for you." he really was... But he was scared. He didn't want to admit it.

The next day couldn't come quickly enough as things became awkward between the pair. But arrive it did. Karkat walked up to the dean's office right after he got to school.

"Ah Mr. Vantas." She smiled looking at him.

"I want to accept your offer." He said quietly.

"Splendid. Here is an information packet for you to look over."

* * *

><p>Sollux sat at home, looking rather... Well... Depressed. He picked up the phone.<p>

"Hello?" Terezi said into the phone.

"Hey Terezi..." Sollux sighed quietly. "Can you come over?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'll be over in a minute." Terezi hung up the phone. Grabbing her cane, she made her way across the hall and started to knock on the door.

Sollux walked over to the door, opening it for Terezi. "Hey." He said, leading her to the couch.

"What's going on?" She asked sitting down.

"Karkat ith leaving the country." he said, plopping next to her on the couch. "Thith... Thith jutht ithn't... I don't know... I want him to be happy but... But..." he felt tears sliding down his cheeks. "I... I don't want him to go!"

"Wait a second. Why is he leaving the country?" She asked.

"He'th going to a cooking thcool in italy." he felt his stomach sink. "Ith... Ith wonderful for him. I want him to learn... But... But..." he felt his throat be choked by a sob. "I don't want him to go... I don't want him to leave me here by mythelf for a year..."

"Then tell him that. Most of the issues between you two come from you not talking to him!" She sighed. "Be supportive of whatever decision he makes because ultimately, it's his."

"Th... That'th what I told him." he said, rubbing his eyes. "I told him and he got really mad at me... He won't talk to me... He won't... Do anything... He geth up, goeth to thcool... And then cometh home."

"He probably thinks that you don't care if he leaves or not. You don't realize how much he reads into your actions." She sat up a little. "You need to clearly express to him what you think."

"I... I will when he geth home." he said softly. "I jutht... Don't want him to hate me."

"He doesn't hate you but you hurt him. Badly." She looked where she could smell the most of the appleberry blast. "You need to explain your thoughts to him and then cuddle him like you have never cuddled him before. I would also recommend doting on him. Maybe even try to cook dinner or do something sweet for him."

"Oh gog you ekthpect me to cook for the cooking mathter?" he rolled his eyes. "I don't even think I can do thomething like that... I mean... I can't cook."

"Hello! You're talking to a blind girl with a highly sensitive sense of taste and smell." She sighed. "He's not going to be a cooking master until he gets back from Italy."

"He can thtill cook better than me... But I mean I can try... While heth at thcool will you come with me to the thtore?" He got up, looking on his computer for a recipe. He found one for a pretty decently easy chicken dish. "Doeth thith thound okay?"

"Yeah." She smiled at him. "What time do you pick him up at?"

"Like... Four." he said, printing the paper off the printer. "Doeth thith really thound okay?"

"It sounds fine. I bet he will appreciate the simple awesomeness of a lemon and basil cream sauce." She smiled. "Seriously. It sounds delicious."

"Thankth." he smiled a little bit, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll try my betht." he sighed. "Can you come with me to the thtore?"

"No problem. I can tell you which herbs are freshest!" She smiled. "Now! To the cookies and cream mobile!"

"...Cookieth and cream?" he laughed. "Terezi you're tho weird."

"Do not shun my weirdness." Terezi said. "Or else, I will not help you cook!"

Sollux sighed quietly, driving to the store and parking. He didn't notice Karkat at first. He helped Terezi get out of the car. He pulled out his shopping list and looked at it. "I hope I'm not going to fuck thith up." he grumbled. "You'd better be careful too... With helping me cut thingth..."

Karkat stood by the car of one of his classmates. They wanted to prepare something that the school, surprisingly, didn't have all the ingredients for so they were heading out to the store.

"SOLLUX!" Karkat yelled across the parking lot, running toward his boyfriend. "What are you and Terezi doing here?"

Sollux jumped and shoved the list into his pocket. "G-Going thopping tho I can buy... Thomething to cook tonight for you." he blushed, looking down.

"You don't have to cook me dinner." Karkat smiled. "I like cooking. Obviously..." He shifted a little. "I talked to the dean... She gave me an information packet..."

"When do you leave?" Terezi asked quietly.

"August 5th. They bought my plane tickets this morning after I accepted..." Karkat looked at the ground. "Well, I need to get some things so I can get back to school and work on my dish...

I'll see ya later." He turned to go into the store.

Sollux bit his lip. "Thee? He hateth me." he frowned, shuffling his feet. "Tho much for being matethpritth..." he sighed, biting his lip. He walked into the store with Terezi, looking for the ingredients.

Terezi waited until she heard Sollux stop before taking her cane and whacking him upside the head. "What happened to the speech that you gave to James? You are such a fucking hypocrite! He doesn't hate you. He thinks you want him to leave! You two are matesprits and you need to work this out before he leaves!" She yelled. "Gog. You are stupid!"

"Aaagh..." he held the back of his head, rubbing it. "Fuck... Terezi that hurt..."

"Good. Hopefully it knocked some sense into you." She put her hand on her hip. "Now, let's get this over with."

Sollux grumbled as he pushed the cart through the store. He got to the checkout like with all his ingredients at the same time as Karkat. "Oh hey KK." he smiled at him. "What are you making at thcool?"

"An Italian dish. I forgot the name of it but it calls for cherry tomatoes and a special type of vinegar that the school didn't have. Plus Michael needed some ingredients for his dish." Karkat smiled at him. Karkat walked over to him, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist. Taking a deep breath, he shivered against Sollux. "Sorry. I needed a hug." He started to pull away.

Sollux wrapped his arms tightly around Karkat, breathing in his scent. "You can hug me all you want." he smiled, kissing his cheek. "I love you KK."

"I love you too Sollux." Karkat smiled up at him.

"Karkat, we need to get back to school. My dish takes two hours!" Michael said. "Plus you live with your boyfriend! I have to drive two hours away to see mine."

"Sorry." Karkat grinned sheepishly. "I'll see you at 4?"

"Yeah. Come home hungry." he kissed Karkat gently, touching his face. He put his food up on the conveyer, shyly waving at Karkat, blushing darkly.

"Now when you get home, tell him that you don't want him to leave but will support his decision." Terezi said. "You two are too cute to break up over school."

"Yeah..." Sollux replied, sighing quietly as he did so. He rubbed his eyes gently, paying for the food. He headed back home where he started a rather dangerous cooking experience. "Gog Terezi be careful with that knife"

"It's fine!" She said slicing the lemon in half. "You're only letting me cut the lemon in half!"

"Becauthe I'm thcared you're gonna like... Hurt me or hurt yourthelf with that thing."

"I'm usually the one cooking unless Feferi comes over! So, I know how to use a knife!" Terezi said.

"Okay... Okay..." he bit his lip, shaking his head. "Thtill..." he grumbled, shifting as he cut the chicken.

Before either of them realized it, it was time for Sollux to go pick Karkat up. "Just finish putting the fucking food on the plate and then go get him!" Terezi yelled.

Karkat had been sitting on the bench by the parking lot for 15 minutes. "He's never late..."

"GAAH!" Sollux put the food on the plate. "Terezi, Arrange it to look kinda pretty okay? Guh fuck what am I thaying you're blind guhhh! I'll be back." He ran grabbing his keys and his bag as he headed out the door, heading down to the college.

"Should I call him? Maybe he forgot..." Karkat pulled his knees up to his chest. "Why would he forget about you, Vantas? You're his matesprit and he loves you... Even though he doesn't care if you go to Italy..." He whispered, pulling them closer. "Sollux..."

Sollux pulled into the parking lot, getting out of the car. "Gog KK, I'm tho thorry." he hurried over. "KK?"

"Sollux?" Karkat looked up, practically jumping up from the bench and into Sollux's arms. "I was so worried!"

"I'm thorry... I wath cooking... And well. I mithh judged the cooking time... I'm really, really thorry." he said holding onto Karkat tightly. "I wath trying to get everything ready and... And... I'm thorry..." he buried his head in Karkat's shoulder, shivering against him.

"Just take me home... Please..." Karkat said softly. "I just want to go home..." He didn't want to cry. Sollux hadn't forgotten him and therefore he had no reason to cry.

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he said quietly, biting his lip to stop the tears. He led him back to the car, gently opening the door for him before hopping into the driver's seat. He headed home. Oh how he had hoped Terezi had plated the food...

Terezi smiled at her handy work. Even though she couldn't see it, she knew it looked amazing. Plus, she had lit some candles. "Have a good dinner you two!" She smiled walking out the door just a few seconds before the pair made their way up the stairs.

Karkat held on to Sollux as if his life depended on it. The opportunities that school was providing seemed to be putting a strain on their relationship and Karkat was starting to consider dropping out. If he wasn't going to school, then he couldn't go to Italy and things would get better between him and Sollux... Right?

Sollux swallowed hard, opening the door to find a dark living room. There on the table, which had somehow been brought out into the living room, was two lit candles, hot food and two glasses of sparkling juice. "Oh..."

"Sollux! This is amazing!" Karkat smiled, stepping inside. "You didn't have to do all this!" He turned and hugged Sollux tightly. "Pizza would have been fine..."

"I wanted to cook." he said, looking down. "To... To show you that I can do it." he bit his lip, finally letting the tears loose. "I... I..." he sniffed, letting his arms drop. "I... I really don't want you to go..."

"Sollux... I'm sorry... I thought you wanted me to leave so I... I accepted the offer..." He hugged Sollux tighter. "I'm sorry... I'll tell them that I changed my mind! Better yet, I'll quit... I don't need to go to school..."

"No!" Sollux clung to him. "No... I... I want you to go to thcool... I want you to be happy..." he sniffed, wrapping his arms even tighter around Karkat. "I... I want you to learn… I want you to be happy... And I want you to go to learn. But I'm... I'm gonna mithh you... Tho much..."

"I'm going to miss you too. I'll be online every day and we can still talk! Plus we can call each other!" Karkat looked up at him. "I love you. So much."

Sollux nodded, sniffling as he gently pulled Karkat into a kiss.

Karkat kissed him back. "Let's have dinner. I'm starving..."

"Good." he smiled, leading him over to the table. "I... I hope ith good..." he bit his lip.

"It smells good. Lemon and basil?" Karkat asked. "I work with them a lot at school."

"Yeah..." he blushed, starting to eat.

Karkat smiled, digging into the food. "This is delicious!" He smiled even wider. "Don't lose this recipe."

"I... Ith it really?" he blushed. "T-Thank you." he smiled and continued eating, feeling proud of himself.

"Maybe I should have you cook dinner more often..." Karkat smirked at him.

Sollux turned pale. "Thith was a trial. Terezi thcared the crap out of me with the knife. I thought thhe wath gonna hurt herthelf." he shook his head. "I know, I know..." he sighed. "Making a blind girl help me make food."

"You had Terezi help? That hilarious!" Karkat laughed. "I'm going to take the bloodless kitchen as a good sign..."

"Yeah." he smiled, taking another bite of food. "Mmm." he grinned. "T-Tho do you like it?"

"It's really good. Better than anything Michael has made so far." He laughed. "After dinner, how about we watch a movie and cuddle?"

"Thure." he smiled a little. They finished eating and Sollux started cleaning up the dishes.

Karkat walked behind Sollux, wrapping his arms around his waist. "I love you, Sollux."

"I love you too." he said, smiling. "I want... To make thethe latht few dayth here that you have before you leave, like... Amazing." he smiled.

"You realize that I have a month before I leave right?" Karkat smiled. "Any day with you is amazing."

"I know..." he turned around, kissing him gently. "But I don't want you to go and think that I didn't... Or that I wouldn't mith you."

Karkat kissed him back before wrapping his arms tightly around Sollux. "Mmmmmmm."

Sollux smiled, holding him close. "Thank you."

"Forget the movie, I just want to cuddle." Karkat smiled.

Sollux smiled, gently trying his best to lift Karkat, using his powers as much as he could, holding him in his arms. "I like that idea." he carried him back to the bedroom, sitting down on the bed, laying him in his lap.

"I was not expecting that..." Karkat smiled, keeping his arms around Sollux's neck. "You're amazing."

"You are." he smiled, kissing him gently. "Mmmm..."

Karkat kissed him back, his fingers moving to Sollux's hair. He giggled as he pulled away, feeling so happy that he wanted to cry.

Sollux snuggled him close. Before he knew it he had fallen asleep, curled up around Karkat.

Karkat smiled in his sleep, having a dream of a date with Sollux. "Sollux..." He whispered softly.

Sollux shifted, gently nudging Karkat in his sleep. "Nnnn..."

_In the dream, Sollux had prepared a date for the pair. Sollux stood in a suit, with a bouquet of flowers by a table in the park on a moonlit night. "Sollux. This is so amazing." He smiled, taking the flowers._

Sollux shifted again, rubbing his eyes as he slowly started to wake up. "Nnn?"

Karkat snuggled close to Sollux, just as he did in the dream. "I love you."

"Nnn... Love you too." he curled up against to Karkat.

The day finally came, Karkat had clung to Sollux the entire ride there. Thank gog that Gamzee had also gotten his license. Karkat had a death grip on Sollux's hand. He didn't want to leave. Sollux didn't want him to leave so why was he doing this?

Sollux had been fighting back the tears for a long time, holding them back as hard as he could, trying to not be sad.

Karkat sat his suitcase down, facing Sollux. "I love you." He wrapped his arms around Sollux, his tears falling freely. "I miss you already..."

"I love you too." he said quietly, holding onto Karkat tightly. "You'll... You'll call me every day right?" he asked, biting his lip as he let the tears go.

"Of course! And I'll get online everyday so we can video chat!" Karkat buried his face into Sollux's chest.

"Yeah..." Sollux sniffed, looking at him with scared eyes. "Be... Really careful okay?"

"I know." Karkat said. "Please don't forget about me..." He whispered. "I love you so much."

"How can I forget about you?" he asked, gently holding his face. "We're matethprith." he kissed him gently. "I can't forget about you."

"Matesprits for life." Karkat whispered, kissing him back.

Sollux sniffled, looking at him with sad eyes. He watched Karkat turn and go inside. He sniffled and turned to Gamzee, burying his face in Gamzee's arm. He knew he could be there for him... At least for a while.

"Hey man. It's okay. Karbro is going to be just fine!" Gamzee smiled. "Feel free to come over to Tav's and my place, anytime." He paped Sollux's head.

Karkat finally got on the plane, looking through all the pictures on his phone of Sollux, especially the ones of Sollux sleeping and smiling. He opened a new message and type, "I LOVE YOU." He sent the message to Sollux.

Sollux's tears had mostly dried by the time he got the message. He sent one back reading. "dont forget two turn off your phone on the plane. ii love you two. plea2e take care of your2elf on the way there. call me when you get to your fiir2t 2top." he smiled and curled back up with the bee pillow.

Karkat smiled at the message. "DORK. I MISS YOU. I'LL TEXT YOU WHEN WE LAND."

Sollux smiled, sniffling as he pulled the blanket over him. It was going to be a long year.

Months passed. It had gotten cold. Snow had fallen all around, creating wonderful scenery. Sollux had been frequently visiting everyone. He had gotten little gifts for everyone seeing as it was the holiday season. It was the week before Christmas. Sollux sat inside, wrapping himself up in a blanket. The apartment was clean, which shocked him. He wanted to keep it clean so when he took pictures to send to KK things would be nice and clean for him. He laid on his bee pillow, sighing quietly, watching one of Karkat's favorite movies.

Karkat walked out of the airport. "It's nice to be home!" He smiled at Gamzee. "Thanks for keeping this secret from Sollux."

"No problem Karbro! Tav and I were excited to find out that you were coming home." Gamzee smiled back, holding Tavros' hand.

"Did you get the stuff that I asked for?"

Tavros nodded. "Yeah." he smiled. "It's all in the trunk." he grinned, bouncing a little.

"Thanks." Karkat smiled, walking over and hugging Tavros. "Sorry to make you two drive out here in the snow..."

Tavros smiled. "No no its fine." he grinned. He was dressed in jeans and a cute coat. He had a hat on his head, covering his ears. "Its fine!" he smiled. "I like the snow!"

"It's really no big deal, Karkat." Gamzee smiled. "Especially since my episodes have gotten a lot better." He pulled Tavros closer.

"That's good to hear. Let's get home. I want my Sollux…" Karkat smiled as they made their way to the car. When they arrived at the apartment and Karkat got his things from the trunk, he pulled out his phone, dialing Sollux.

Sollux grumbled a little, muting the TV as he picked up his phone. "Oh hey KK." he smiled.

"Hey. I need you to do me a favor." Karkat said. "I need you to be quick about it too."

"Huh?" he rubbed his eyes. "Okay?" he sat up, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders.

"I need you to open the door to the apartment." He smiled. "Don't ask questions, just do it. And fast."

Sollux blinked. "Um... Okay?" he got up, blinking as he walked to the door, opening it.

Karkat hung up the phone. He could feel the tip of his nose turning red. "Hey!" Karkat smiled when the door finally opened.

Sollux gasped, looking at Karkat with big wide eyes before they rolled back into his head and he fell backwards onto the ground, out cold.


	23. Chapter 23

Karkat set the bag of groceries down on the landing before moving to pull Sollux back into the apartment. "Gamzee! Tav! I need help!"

Gamzee came running. "What happened?"

"He saw me and then passed out..." Karkat looked up at Gamzee fear in his eyes. "Can you help me get him in the apartment?"

Tavros clambered up the steps picking up groceries and other things as much as he could before taking them into their kitchen. "Is... Is he gonna be okay?' he asked, frowning.

"Yeah. I think it's just shock and excitement." Karkat sighed, pulling the blanket over Sollux. "Thanks guys." A few hours passed and Karkat figured that Sollux should be waking up soon. "I'll make him some honey pancakes!" Karkat smiled as he set to work on his boyfriend's favorite food.

Sollux shifted, his head aching. What trickery was this? His eyes had to have been playing tricks on him. Something wasn't right. The kitchen smelled like honey... Pancakes? Nonsense, Karkat was in Italy... Enjoying himself he was assured.

"Sollux? Are you awake? I made honey pancakes!" Karkat smiled, walking into the living room.

Sollux half closed his eyes again. "Ith thith really happening? Am I athleep? Am I awake? KK, you're thuppothed to be in Italy, not here..."

"It's almost Christmas... I couldn't let you spend it alone..." He pouted. "Plus I made honey pancakes..." He walked over to the couch. "I missed you."

Sollux slowly sat up. "KK... Kith me." he reached out to him. "Prove to me that you're not a dream and that you're really here..."

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux, kissing him gently. "I miss your kisses so much." He kissed him again.

Sollux held him and started crying. He couldn't help it. "Oh gog KK I mithed you tho much." he sobbed, clinging to him tightly, sniffling.

"It's okay. I'm here." Karkat whispered, running his hands through Sollux's hair. "I missed you too." He leaned down, kissing Sollux's forehead.

Sollux sniffled. He didn't want to admit to Karkat he hadn't been eating much. He had been worrying himself frantically over every single detail of everything. He shivered at the thought of something bad happening to Karkat. His fridge was filled with minimalistic foods. Most of the stuff he had was in cans or jars, not need refrigeration. There was a thing of peanut butter on the stove and a fresh loaf of bread Terezi had bought for him. Things had been rough and Sollux didn't want to admit he was so afraid. He shivered and sobbed hard against Karkat, clinging to him tightly, hoping that he wouldn't leave.

"Sollux... You need to eat something... The pancakes are done." He whispered pulling slightly away from his matesprit. "I love you but you need to eat."

"I... I know, I know." he said softly, getting up with him, sniffling, rubbing his eyes. "I'm thorry... I'm thorry..." he walked into the kitchen looking at the pancakes. "Oh my gog..." he rubbed his eyes. "Theth... Look amazing."

"I haven't cooked honey pancakes for a while..." Karkat laughed a little. "Dig in!"

Sollux started to eat, feeling the pancakes melt in his mouth. "Nnngh oh gog KK... Thethe are amathing."

Karkat smiled watching Sollux eat. "I'm glad that they got better." He laughed a little. "So, plans for today. Epic cuddling and maybe some movie watching. Napping will be thrown in."

"Yeth." he smiled, rubbing his arms a little bit. "Nngh... I love thith."

Karkat walked over to Sollux, wrapping his arms around Sollux's shoulders. "I missed you so much, love."

"I mithed you too." he smiled, pushing the plate in front of him, turning around and burying his face in his chest. "KK..." he breathed in his scent. It was just as he had remembered it.

Karkat leaned down, shoving his face into Sollux's' hair, taking in the sweet scent of honey. "I love you."

"I love you too." he smiled brightly, gently kissing his stomach. "I... I just... I'm tho happy right now." he sniffled.

Karkat pulled back a little. "That tickles." He bent down and started to nip and kiss at Sollux's neck.

Sollux blushed. "Nnn..." he breathed out, tilting his head so Karkat could get to more skin. "Nnn... KK..."

Karkat moved down Sollux's neck before going up to his jaw and finally back to his mouth. He smiled into the kiss, tasting the sweet mixture of Sollux and honey.

Sollux moaned quietly, kissing him harshly, his hands running through Karkat's hair.

Karkat moved to straddle Sollux in his chair. He pushed his tongue against Sollux's lips, demanding entry as he let his arms hang over Sollux's shoulders.

Sollux parted his lips, letting Karkat's tongue in, gently moving his against Karkat's.

Karkat moaned softly, shifting his hips slightly. This was really not how he expected his first day home to be but he didn't care. Sollux was there and that was all he needed. He pulled back a little. "Sollux..." Was all he could get out before Sollux reclaimed his mouth.

Sollux kissed him gently before pulling back. "Hmm?" he asked, feeling his pants grow tighter. "Nn..." he smiled, placing soft kisses on Karkat's neck and jaw.

"I love you." Karkat smiled. "Aaaahn." He moaned as Sollux kissed one of his sensitive spots. "Sollux.."

"KK?" he smiled, licking that spot over and over again.

Karkat shifted to where Sollux could better access his neck. "Gog... Sollux... Please..." He whispered. "I want it..."

"Want what?" he asked, smiling.

Karkat moaned his reply. The pair moved to the bedroom and spent the rest of the night making only the sweetest of love. Wrapped in each other's arms, they let the peaceful darkness of slumber wash over them. The sun shone bright through the window. Karkat had been awake for a couple hours, still on his school sleep schedule. He smiled, curling back into the warmth of his love.

Sollux shifted, rubbing his eyes grumbling.

"Good morning Sollux." He looked up at Sollux.

Christmas day arrived. Everyone gathered into Eridan and Feferi's apartment. They sat around opening presents and giggling and laughing at the silly things the secret Santa had brought for all of them. They ate a wonderfully cooked vegetarian meal. Everyone said their thanks and returned back to their respective homes. New Year's came and went. Sollux spent the rest of the time with Karkat before he got back onto the plane to go back to Italy. He said he would be back in time for Sollux's birthday. He waved goodbye to him, heading back. January brought snow and ice as usual, keeping Sollux inside. He curled up around his bee pillow and blanket watching TV or playing around on the computer. He looked through pictures Karkat had taken on his trip, wishing he could have been there.

January brought something new for Tavros however. Tavros started school with Gamzee. Gamzee had gone off to art school, learning how to paint. He spent most of his time there while Tavros spent most of his time in the music hall listening to concerts and enjoying life.

Gamzee had been keeping a secret from Tavros. He still went to school but had started after school activities, involving heroin. After his classes, he would go over to a friend's house and dope up. He would come home still on his high and fell asleep before the high disappeared. He had also taken to getting up before Tavros so he could shoot up before class. The heroin made him feel the way that the sopor slime had but he worked hard to remain mostly normal for Tavros.

Tavros rubbed his eyes, coming into the kitchen for a glass of water. "Morning." he mumbled, seeing Gamzee at the table.

"Morning Tav." He stood, kissing Tavros gently. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine." he smiled, scratching where his artificial limb was attached. "Nnn."

"Your legs bothering ya? Come over here and sit." Gamzee sat down and patted his legs.

Tavros rubbed his eyes. "Mmm... Yeah." he walked over, smiling a little. "Just... A little itchy."

"Do you want to stop at McDonald's before I take you to school today?" Gamzee asked, wrapping his arms around Tavros.

"That's fine I guess." he smiled a little bit, shifting. Something seemed off.

Gamzee tried to seem calm and sober but he could feel the heroin raging through his system in sweet relief. He leaned his head against Tavros. "I love you Tav."

Tavros felt Gamzee shiver a little bit. "Mm.." he hummed quietly. "I love you too Gamzee."

"I'm going to go get ready. You know, if you want me to make breakfast, I can. We have time."

"Okay." he nodded, watching him leave. Something was off. He sighed quietly, sitting down and putting his head in his hands.

Gamzee walked into the bedroom, breathing a sigh of relief as he enjoyed his high a little before getting dressed. He sat on their bed, relaxing a bit before going back into the kitchen. "Get dressed, I'll make breakfast." He kissed Tavros' forehead as he started to gather everything needed for French toast.

"Okay." he got up, walking into the bedroom. He seemed to be having a little bit of trouble. He sat down, starting to get dressed.

Gamzee finished a few pieces before walking back into the room. "You okay Tav? You seem to be having a little bit of trouble with your legs..."

"I'll be fine." he said, looking up at him. "They're just rubbing a bit. I've gotta dig out the socks and I'll be fine." he smiled. He crawled around on the bed, reaching towards the dresser, getting out his special socks.

"You sure?" Gamzee walked over to the bed, putting his hand on Tavros' leg. "Tav, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong Gamzee." he smiled. "Go make breakfast. I'm hungry." he flopped back on the bed, rolling the sock on his leg.

Gamzee pulled away a little. Tavros never acted like this, so something had to be really wrong. Gamzee nodded and stood, making his way back to the kitchen. He put his hands in his hair as he leaned against the counter. "Fuck..." What if Tavros found out that he was high? Would Tavros leave him? He was high when they met so why does it matter? Does it matter?

Tavros sighed quietly, biting his lip. Karkat was out of the country. Karkat couldn't help, but Sollux would. He could go to Sollux... Or Fef... Or Terezi... Or Nepeta...Anyone would help him. Something was up with Gamzee.

Gamzee turned when he heard Tavros enter the kitchen. "Ready to go?" He smiled, taking Tavros' hand in his and pulling him close. "I love you and I really want you to be happy." He kissed Tavros' forehead. "You mean so much to me."

"I know." he smiled. "Can I eat a little something first?" he asked, blushing.

"Sorry. Totally forgot that I had cooked. Guess I really am stressing over that art history test..." Gamzee put his hand to his head. "Stupid me. Go for it Tav."

Tavros smiled a little, taking a plate and getting some food before sitting down. It was tasty as always. He smiled, cleaning his plate before quickly cleaning up and taking it back to the sink. "Now we can go."

"I'll pick something up at the cafe on campus." Gamzee smiled, taking Tavros' hand as they made their way to the purple car. "What's your plan for today?"

"Uhh..." he tapped his chin. "I have a doctor's appointment. Sollux is taking me to that since it's in the middle of the day. Right during your test." he smiled. "Just a checkup for my legs. It's nothing big." he tapped his chin again. "And I think that's really it besides class."

"I wish I could take you. Stupid test. I don't like art history." Gamzee pouted a little. "How is Sollux? Is he doing okay with Karbro being in Italy? He hasn't been coming over lately."

"As far as I'm aware, Sollux is doing fine." he smiled. "He's been talking to him and chatting every day. It's nice to see him smile."

"That's good. I'm glad that their keeping things together." Gamzee smiled, taking Tavros' hand as the car turned onto the road for Tavros' school. "I'll be here around 5. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." he said, smiling. "That works."

"We're here... Wish me luck and give me a kiss!" Gamzee laughed.

Tavros leaned in, gently giving him a kiss before moving to get out of the car. "Good luck Gamzee. I know you'll do great." he smiled brightly and picked up his backpack before heading to class.

"Love you Tav!" Gamzee yelled like normal before putting the car back in drive and going to his art school. He pulled into a spot, realizing that he still had an hour before his first class. He went to his friend's normal hang out spot, seeing Sean. "Hey man."

Tavros sighed quietly, going to his normal classes before calling Sollux to come get him.

Gamzee got a small fix before going into his art history test. He was one of the last ones to finish but finish he did. "I think I did pretty well on it. Let's see how Tav is doing." He sent Tavros a message, asking him how the appointment was going and if he had any plans for lunch.

Sollux handed Tavros his phone as Tavros texted back telling him about the appointment. Things were fine. He got his legs adjusted and got fitted for a pair of fins for swimming.

"ThAt'S aWeSoMe TaV!" Gamzee sent back. "i LoVe YoU!"

Tavros sighed. "i LOVE YOU TOO, GAMZEE,," he wrote back, frowning. "Sollux, can I ask you something?"

"Thoot."

"I think Gamzee is using drugs." he frowned. Sollux looked concerned, but Tavros told him everything. He had found some used needles in the trash can along with spoons that had some weird sticky substance in them. He had tossed them because they hadn't come clean in the dishwasher.


	24. Chapter 24

Gamzee sat in the lounge with a bottle of Faygo and a bag of chips. He looked over at Sean. "This is awesome!" Sean nodded. "It sucks that you already told Tav that you would be at his school at 5. I'm having a party tonight."

"Well, I have enough at the apartment to last a couple more days." Gamzee said. "Plus, I really need to spend time with Tav. I think he's catching on."

Sean frowned. "Aw man that sucks. Is he mad bro?"

"I don't know. He seems off. I think he saw the needles. I'm just hoping that he doesn't think anything of it." Gamzee sighed. "Let's stop talking about it. It's killing my high."

Sean nodded. "Yeah man. Let's hope he'll be fine." he shrugged and slugged back his Faygo.

Gamzee's final class of the day ended 15 minutes early so he decided to text Tav and tell him that he would be early. He pulled into the parking lot, finding a parking spot with ease before turning off the car to wait for his love to get out of class.

Tavros waddled out of class, coming out to the car. He looked rather frustrated.

"What's up Tav?" Gamzee asked when Tavros got in the car. "I brought you a caramel Frappuccino from my campus cafe."

Tavros smiled a little, setting his things down in the car. "Thank you... I've just... Had a rough day. I'm fine though." he sighed, taking the cup, gently sipping it.

"Talk to me. What's up?" Gamzee asked, backing out of the parking spot.

"Just... Stupid stuff." he said quietly. "I didn't finish one of the assignments for class and I failed it... And it really bugged me. Then I got called a cripple... But that's not even..." he sighed, letting his anger drain. "I'm fine though. It's not even worth bothering over." he smiled, sipping his drink. "How was your day? How did your test go?"

"I think I did pretty good on it even though I was one of the last ones done. I took extra time on the essays but I think I did good." Gamzee smiled. "Plus, they had peach Faygo at the book store today so I was excited about that." He took Tavros' hand in his. "Don't let stupid people get to you Tav. You are the most amazing person in the world." He kissed Tavros' hand gently.

Tavros felt a shiver run though him. He knew Gamzee was high. He could sense it. He could tell by his voice, his actions. He sighed and looked out the window. "I'm tired." he said. "I might rest when I'm at home. I don't feel like doing much of anything."

"Cuddling sounds good." He smiled, pulling into the drive way of the apartment building. "I'll grab the bags. Here are the keys." He took the keys from the ignition and handed them to Tavros. "Go on up and get your rest on."

"Okay." he said, getting out of the car with his drink. He walked up the stairs slowly. His legs were hurting from trying on new attachments. He unlocked the door and walked in, sitting down on the couch, gently undoing the legs and setting them aside.

Gamzee grabbed the bags and headed inside, setting them by the couch. He sat on the couch, pulling Tavros close. "I love you Tav." He whispered into Tavros' ear. He felt the wrenching pain in his stomach, a telltale sign that his high was about to end. "I need to go grab something from the room, I'll be back okay?"

"Okay." he sighed quietly, flipping channels on the TV.

Gamzee got up and made his way back into their bedroom, getting into the drawer where he kept his stash.. He opened the box. "How?" He looked down at the box, seeing the inside of it empty. "I had enough for two more days!"

Tavros bit down on his lip. He had flushed it... He flushed it all. Sollux had suggested to him that it was a good idea. An idea to try and get it to be gone... He shifted a little on the couch, getting up to put his legs back on so he could go into the kitchen.

Gamzee went into the living room. "What did you do with it? I know you had to do something with it Tav!" Gamzee yelled. "Where the fuck are you going?" He pushed Tavros back down onto the couch.

Tavros gasped. "G-Gamzee w-what I'm thirsty and I want a drink." he felt genuinely scared.

Gamzee kept Tavros pinned down to the couch. "Tell me what the fuck you did with my stash Tavros." His voice low with anger.

"Gamzee I... I don't know what you're talking about." he said quietly, his voice shaking. "G-Gamzee, please... You're scaring me.."

Gamzee pulled back a little. "Fuck Tavros. What did you do?"

Tavros quickly got up. He wasn't fast, but fast enough to move from the couch to the kitchen, cowering. "Oh gog oh gog oh gog..." he panicked.

Gamzee followed him into the kitchen. "Tavros." He grabbed his shoulder, squeezing hard. "You are the only person besides me who had access to it. Now, what the FUCK did you do with my stash?"

Tavros winced, trying hard to be strong, trying hard not to cry. "G-Gamzee that h-hurts..." he whimpered, his body shaking.

Gamzee brought his arm back, punching the wall right beside Tavros' head. "Where is it Tav?"

Tavros jumped. "G-Gamzee w-what are you talking about?" he felt light headed. This wasn't happening. This... This wasn't happening.

Gamzee let his grip go a little, just enough so that Tavros had blood flow. "You will tell me what you did with my stash. Or else your face will have a hole the size of my fist."

"You wouldn't." he said, looking at Gamzee, trying to be confident. "You wouldn't do that to me."

"And why wouldn't I?" Gamzee asked. "Just tell me what you did with it and I'll let you go."

"Gamzee, I don't know what you're talking about." he swallowed his tears. He wouldn't cry. He had to be strong.

"Fuck!" Gamzee punched the wall again, turning and going to grab his keys. "I'll be back later."

Tavros hurried after him. "Gamzee wait! Where are you going?" he grabbed at Gamzee's shirt.

Gamzee swung his arm around, hitting Tavros in the shoulder. "Get the fuck off of me." He walked out the door.

Tavros fell to the ground, hitting his head on the doorway, falling to the ground with a thump, his leg coming unattached. He burst into sobs, holding his head, cradling his arm.

Gamzee got in his car, pulling out his cell phone and calling Sean. "I need a fix. Now. Tav flushed it." He said into the phone as he drove over to Sean's place.

Tavros sobbed, crawling to the couch, re attaching his leg. He dabbed at the cut on his head from the fall with a tissue, holding his arm. It wasn't broken, but it hurt bad. He shifted it. "Nnh..." he sniffled, blowing his nose. He hated Gamzee right now. He wanted this to be fixed and done. He sobbed and held his blanket on the couch tightly.

Gamzee got out of his car and walked up to Sean's door, knocking loudly before entering. "Sean?"

Sean was sitting at his table. "Sup bro." he said, tapping a bag on the table.

"Tav flushed my entire fucking stash. He won't admit it but he's the only one who is ever in our apartment besides me." Gamzee sighed sitting down. "I need a fix. Can you hook a brother up?"

"Yeah, sure thing." He handed him a bag. "You need a fix now? I'll fix up a batch."

"Thanks man." Gamzee sighed. "I feel kinda bad. I actually hit Tav... Plus, I'm pretty sure I scared the fuck out of him." He put his head in his hands. "Why can't he just understand that I need this?"

"I dunno man." he worked on filling up two syringes of liquid. "Here." he handed him the rubber tourniquet and the needle. "He just doesn't understand man."

Gamzee tied the tourniquet around his arm before piercing the skin with the needle and letting the tourniquet loose. "Ah... So much better." He pulled the needle from his arm, leaning back against the couch. "I wonder if he's going to leave me..."

Sean took his hit, grinning like a mad fool. "Who knows dude. Let your rush come down and head back. You guys seem pretty close... And I mean you did hit him."

Gamzee waited about 15 minutes before deciding to head back to his apartment. He opened the door not expecting to see Tavros and he was kinda glad that he didn't. He didn't know what to say to Tavros because he didn't want to admit that he had found a substitute for sopor slime. He walked back into the hall, grabbing a blanket and pillow before going into the living room and making himself a bed on the couch.

Tavros was in the bedroom. He had heard the door open. He had heard someone go into the hall, and he had heard someone go back to the living room. Tavros got up, walking out into the living room. His shoulder was bruising and his eyes were puffy and red. His head had a bruise on the side where he had hit the door. He looked at Gamzee with a scowl before going into the kitchen.

Gamzee couldn't look at him so he curled up under the blankets and tried to go to bed. But he couldn't. The fact that he had hurt Tavros bothered him. "I'm sorry Tav but I need this. Please just... Try to understand that."

"How." he said, clenching his fists as he stood in the doorway. "This... This is just like you were before." he said. "You promised me you would stop. You PROMISED!" he glared at him, tears rolling down his face. "Gamzee... I hate seeing you like this." he hit the door frame with his hand. "You hurt me. People are going to ask if I had some sort of accident... This... This isn't right!" he sniffed. "I thought it would help you... For me to do what I did."

Gamzee ran his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry Tav but I need this. It's a part of me." He looked up at Tav. "I'm sorry I hurt you but I NEED this."

"Gamzee you don't need it!" he glared, his eyes dark. "You don't. You don't need it at all! You don't!" he felt like screaming.

"You don't understand Tav. I do. I'm me when I'm high..." He whispered.

"You were you when you were sober!" he cried out, glaring at him. "Gamzee if you're going to be like this..." he swallowed. He didn't want to do it. He didn't want to put space between them. "I... I..."

"Don't. Tav just don't. Please... I can't take losing you..." He whispered.

"Then just fucking stop!" he screamed, glaring at him. "I... I flushed it all because I can't stand seeing you like this!"

Gamzee looked up at Tavros, wide-eyed. Tavros had cursed. "Just give me a little more time. I just... I'm sorry..." He looked at his blanket. "I... I'll try..."

"Gamzee you're high. You won't remember this in a few hours. It's just like it was back on Alternia." he rolled his eyes. "You only cared about sopor slime. It wasn't until you came here that you decided to stop and now look. Look what you've done!" he sniffed, holding his hands tightly in fists. "You've done it again. Royally making it so you've ruined yourself."

"We need to go to bed... You have school in the morning..." Gamzee said before sliding down to lay out on the couch. He tried desperately to fall asleep but sleep never came and it would continue to avoid him for the next two weeks as he used more and more. He had come home after his last class instead of waiting for Tavros'. He sat on the couch, taking one of the 3 plastic baggies from his pocket. He needed a fix. Gamzee smiled as the powder melted into a liquid, filling the syringe with it. He tied his arm but before he could put the needle in, the world became dark.

Tavros hadn't heard from Gamzee. He hadn't wanted to speak to Gamzee. He got a ride home from school from Sollux almost daily. On this day, he rode back with Sollux. Sollux left him in the parking lot before heading out to go do some grocery shopping. Tavros walked up to the apartment, unlocking the door before dropping everything, gasping. "Oh gog... Oh gog Gamzee" he ran over to his side, feeling his face and neck. "Oh no oh no oh no" he stared to panic. He grabbed the phone, calling 911, explaining what had happened. He made a few more phone calls, calling Nepeta, Terezi, Sollux, and trying to get a hold of Karkat, but to no avail.

Gamzee woke up a few hours later, bright lights in his eyes. "What the fuck?" He said sitting up. He looked around the room, noting the 2 police officers that were present and talking to Tavros.

Tavros was in tears. He had explained everything to the police, feeling horrible about every living moment of it. He clung tightly to Nepeta and Terezi who Sollux had picked up and brought to the hospital with him.

The police officers came over to Gamzee. "Mr. Makara. You are under arrest for possession of illegal substances." Gamzee looked at the police officer. The only thing he could do was nod. Tavros probably hated him and being away would give Tavros the chance to find someone who wouldn't hurt him. "Since this is your first offence, we want to give you the chance to admit yourself into rehab."

Gamzee looked over at the pair of cops. "But that would mean... I don't know..." Gamzee brought his knees up to his chest. "Can I have a few minutes to talk to Tav?"

The police officers nodded. Tavros couldn't look at Gamzee. He looked down at his metal feet. He had wrapped himself in a blanket, coming down from the shock and stress that was induced in all of this. He sniffled, wiping his nose on a Kleenex.

"Tav... I want to talk to you." Gamzee said. "Please..."

"I'm listening." he said softly, wringing his hands.

"I'm sorry. I know I've fucked up royally but please believe me when I say that I don't want you to leave me. I'll do anything. Just tell me what to do." He said and he meant every word. His body ached from lack of drugs in his system but he knew that Tavros would leave him. "Do you want me to go to rehab?"

Tavros looked up at him, his eyes meeting his for a brief moment. "Yes." he said bluntly.

"Will you come visit me? Every day?" He asked softly. "I'll need you even more than last time..."

"Yeah." he said softly, sniffling. "I... I just don't want to see you... Fail."

"Hey Ms. Cop. I'll go. I'll go to rehab, willingly." He said loudly. "Just please don't leave me Tav... Please..."

Tavros gently reached out, taking his hand. "Gamzee..." he whispered. "Look at me." He bit his lip. "I won't if you do this for me."

"I'll do anything. I can't handle losing you..." he said softly. "I'm so tired... I haven't slept in like 2 weeks..." He shivered, pain coursing through his body. "Why am I such an idiot?"

"Maybe this is something you need to learn Gamzee." he said, looking at him. "That... This isn't the answer."

Gamzee was taken from the hospital and put into rehab. The first few days were horrible. Going between fits of anger, where he had to be put into a straightjacket to be able to see Tavros, or bouts of crying and shaking so horribly that Tavros couldn't leave until he had calmed. Gamzee felt horrible for making Tavros go through all of this again.  
>"I'm so sorry Tav. I'm sorry." He sat in the corner of his room one day crying as he rocked back and forth. He didn't know when or if Tavros was going to come visit him or if they would even let Tavros in. He hated himself and knew that this was hurting Tavros more than himself. "I fucked up so badly…. I'm so sorry Tav…." He gripped his hair as the rocking and shaking became worse.<p>

Tavros walked into the facility. He had been experiencing some problems with his legs and was using crutches again until the swelling had gone down. He sat down in the waiting room, setting the crutches against the wall.

"Tavros? Gamzee needs you." The nurse said. "He's panicking and won't let anyone near him."

"Oh dear." He bit his lip and nodded. He got up, grabbing his crutches. "I'll need some help getting back there, but I'll do my best." He smiled a little bit, heading back to Gamzee's room.

"We can get you a wheelchair." The nurse said. "Are you okay with that?"

He chuckled. "I've practically lived in a wheelchair my whole life. I'll be fine. I'd like to walk if I can." He smiled. "Gamzee is going to worry anyway. Me being in a wheelchair will cause a whole new set of anxiety for him." He took it slow, making his way back to Gamzee's room. The door was opened for him and Tavros stepped inside, sitting himself on the floor. He took off his legs and set them aside with his crutches. "Gamzee."

"Tav?" Gamzee looked up, seeing Tavros on the other side of the room. "Tav, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." He crawled over to Tavros, wrapping his arms around him. "I love you. I'm so sorry. Please don't leave. I'm trying! I really am." He started to cry. "I don't deserve you and I'm sorry that I keep hurting you."

Tavros touched his face. "Gamzee calm down…" he breathed, gently wrapping his arms around him. "Shhhhh…" he rubbed his back gently. "It's okay." He rested his head against Gamzee's shoulder, breathing in his scent. It wasn't the same, but it was still him. That musky scent… He missed it. "Gamzee I'm okay." He said. "I know you're trying. I can see you trying." He whispered. "I know you're trying."

Gamzee buried his face in Tavros' shoulder. "I love you so much Tav." He said softly, bringing Tavros as close as he could without hurting him. "I'm sorry." He whispered over and over again.

"I know…. It's okay." He whispered back, his voice soft. "Karkat's coming back for a little bit here soon. He's coming to visit Sollux since he's on spring break." He smiled. "I'll bring him with me if you want." He ran his fingers through Gamzee's hair. "Would you like that?"

"Karbro would kick my ass if he found out what I did." Gamzee smiled. "I still want to see that motherfucker though. I miss his little angry ass." He curled around Tavros. "I love you. Sean tried to visit earlier. I told him that I don't want to talk to him anymore. Are you proud of me?"

"Yes." He smiled, patting his head. "Very." He smiled widely, kissing his cheek. "I'm very happy for you and very, very proud." He grinned, settling down against him. "This room…. Is really boring." He frowned, looking at the TV behind the glass. "You can't even hear the TV or anything." He shrugged his shoulders. "Usually I don't come back here, but I can see why you're… Not so…" he wrapped his arms around Gamzee gently, leaving the thought unfinished.

"I don't really care that it's boring. I'm trying to concentrate on getting through my fits… It's a lot easier when you're here. Gives me a huge reminder of why I'm here." He kissed Tavros' cheek gently. "You're my miracle…"

"Aww." He giggled a little. "Next time I should bring my fidospawn—er… I mean Pokémon cards with me and we can play." He smiled. "It's not as fun as fidospawn, but it's something." He grinned. "I love you Gamzee." He touched his face, his fingers rubbing over Gamzee's cheeks. He looked rough. He looked exhausted and rough. Tavros didn't care. He wanted Gamzee to come out of this okay and for him to be happy with everything again. He wanted Gamzee back to himself again, no matter how long it took.

"I just like having you here but if you want to play, I'm game." He smiled softly. "They wanted me to cut my hair. I do need to get it trimmed though." He laughed a little. "Can I have a kiss or is that still against the rules?"

"I like your hair long." He smiled, grabbing a handful gently. "It's nice." He touched his own hair, which was still shaved on the sides and thick on top. "Hee." He looked at him, blinking. "You know what I said about the rules…. But I guess one wouldn't hurt." He turned pink.

Gamzee gently cupped Tavros' face in his hands, kissing his gently before pulling back and smiling. "I know but I wanted one bad…" Gamzee touched Tavros' forehead with his own. "How about I replace drugs with Tav kisses?" He smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me!"

Tavros grinned. "Gamzee, you're so silly, but I love it." He leaned up, placing another kiss on his lips. "Then how about this. New rule. If you do good and you're back on track with recovery, you get a kiss when I get to see you okay?" he smiled. "Does that sound okay?"

"Fucking miraculous!" He smiled, hugging Tavros tighter. "That sounds like an awesome rule! First one I've liked." He laughed a little. He touched his nose to Tavros'. "And since that isn't an actual kiss, that doesn't count for the no kissing rule!"

"Yup." He laughed, rubbing Gamzee's shaggy head. "I love you." He said softly, smiling. "And after this, nothing more but Faygo and me. Okay? I'm your drug from now on."

"I think I can live with that." Gamzee smiled. "But you should really be careful about saying such cute things. I might attack you with kisses." He shifted so that Tavros was surrounded by him. "And you have no way of escaping the big bad Gamzee!" He kissed Tavros' cheek gently.

Tavros felt his voice hitch in his throat. It reminded him of that incident. "Y-Yeah." He said, shivering. He knew Gamzee was better. He knew it with all his heart that he wouldn't do it again, but he couldn't help but flinch a little when Gamzee completely wrapped around him. He felt so tiny and insecure.

Gamzee kissed Tavros' forehead before shifting again. He could tell that Tavros was uncomfortable with being surrounded. "Sorry Tav…" He said quietly.

"I-It's okay!" he said softly. "It… You're just so much bigger than me its crazy." He laughed. "I mean, I'm only half a person." He said, smiling. "It just…. Reminds me of you know…" his smile faltered as he reached out, wrapping his arms as best he could around Gamzee's wide shoulders. "I love you."

"You're not half a person Tav. You are the most amazing and loving person in the world. And though it sounds cheesy and romcom like, you complete me. You understand me better than I do myself." He wrapped his arms around Tavros' tiny frame. "I love you too."

"Gamzee I have no legs." He laughed a little, looking at him, shaking his head. "The ones I have are made of carbon fiber and metal. By definition, I am half a person, but you know what? I think having you makes up for that… You're like…. 3 people." He laughed, grinning as he leaned against him. "So how did yesterday go?"

"Good. I actually calmed myself down after about 15 minutes of raging. They didn't have to sedate me…" He sighed. "I think you're right about me being 3 people. It took three standard doses for them to get me to pass out a few days ago… But, therapy went well. They said that depending on how the next couple weeks go that I may be released." He rubbed his hand Tavros' arm. "How did your test go?"

"Yay!" he grinned, gently holding onto his hand. "My test was okay." He smiled. "I got a good grade on it, which was wonderful." He smiled, gently papping Gamzee's huge hand. "I just think it's so funny to watch the looks we get. You're so tall and broad and I'm just tiny and... Well… Tiny." he laughed, leaning back against Gamzee, his back against Gamzee's chest. "Mmm…" he hummed quietly. He traced shapes in Gamzee's palm.

"I like how tiny you are. It's part of the reason that I'm so protective of you." Gamzee whispered, keeping his other arm wrapped around Tavros. "Plus, you being so small is part of what makes you so motherfucking adorable." He grinned kissing the top of his head.

"Awww…" he laughed a little, leaning his full weight against him. "Thanks." He smiled widely, stretching out. "So… I might have to go back to being in the wheelchair for a little bit." He said softly. "I have some swelling in my legs."

"That sucks Tav. You going to be okay?" Gamzee asked, reaching down a little to rub one of Tavros' legs. "I told you to use the wheel chair every few days so that wouldn't happen… Maybe I should have gone to medical school…" Gamzee laughed a little.

"Nah." He said softly. "I'm fine. I've got compression bandages on them right now to let the swelling go down. It's really not that big of a deal." He smiled, shifting his legs a little. He rolled up the leg of his shorts a little, showing where his other leg was wrapped tightly in a thick bandage under the sock. "See? They're really easy to change which is nice." He smiled.

"You know that I worry." Gamzee said softly. "I was trying to calm myself down when you came. It wasn't working too well." He nuzzled his face into Tavros' hair, taking a deep breath. "I love the way you smell. It makes me so relaxed." He smiled, a thought popping into his mind. "I think this replacing drugs with you and Faygo is going to be awesome."

Tavros smiled. "I'll make sure to have plenty of red pop ready for you." He said, smiling. "I'll go buy a bunch for when you get home and it'll be there waiting for you." He looked up at Gamzee, grinning. "I'm glad that you're feeling better." He said softly, smirking. "You know that whenever you need to calm down, just know that I'll be here for you as soon as I can. I try and come after school, and you know when I get out of school." He said, turning over to face him. "So just know unless there's some big thing I have to do, I'll be here as soon as Sollux can get me here."

Gamzee nodded. He could feel his muscles start to tense. "Tav… It's happening again…" Gamzee scooted away a little, curling into a ball against the wall as his body started to shake. It wasn't violent shaking but it would be hard for someone to not notice it. He took deep breaths and counted to 5 as he exhaled.

Tavros crawled over to him, wrapping his arms around him as much as he could. "Gamzee I'm here for you." He held out his hand, gently gripping Gamzee's hand. "Shhhh….." he used his free hand to pap his hair.

"It hurts…" Gamzee whispered but he kept breathing through it, making himself think of happy times with Tavros before he had started doing heroin. "I can do this…" He whispered. "I love you Tav…"

"I know… I know." He said softly, continuing to pap his hair. "It'll be okay." He whispered, purring quietly, laying his head down on Gamzee's shoulder. "Sshhhh."

His muscles started to relax. "Okay…." He started to stretch out, little by little. "It's going away… Thanks Tav…" He pulled Tavros close to him. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize." He whispered, running his fingers through his hair. "It's alright. It means you're getting through this." He grinned, kissing Gamzee's temple, running his fingers over his face. "Don't give up."

Gamzee shook his head. "If I give up, I'd be giving you up and I won't ever do that. Ever." He looked up at Tavros. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you…"  
>"Sean! Gamzee said he doesn't want you to come back!" The nurse could be heard yelling in the hallway. Sean barged into the room. Gamzee looked up at him.<br>"I don't want to talk to you. Go away." Gamzee said. "I have Tav and that's all I need." He nuzzled back into Tavros' shoulder.

"That's a fucking lie! You told me before he forced you in here that you needed it." Sean yelled.

"I don't need anything besides Tav and as long as he's here then I can do anything." Gamzee said, a little more force in his voice. "Now, go away."

Tavros clung tightly to Gamzee. "Don't…" he whispered, biting his lip, begging him to hold on…. Don't fight. He wet his lips, looking at the man. "You don't belong here." He said to Sean. "Go away. He doesn't need your influence."

You could see the anger in Sean's eyes as he walked over, intent on hurting Tavros. Gamzee noticed it and pulled Tavros behind him as Sean pulled out a bat and started swinging. Gamzee had turned his back to Sean, using his body to protect Tavros until a couple male nurses came in and apprehended Sean. Once clear, Gamzee slumped off of Tavros.

"You okay Tav?" he asked, a soft smile on his face as blood dripped down the side of his face.

Tavros quivered, looking up at Gamzee. "G-Gam…." He breathed, looking at him with big eyes. "You're hurt." He wanted to stand, but his legs were by the door. He reached out, trying to touch his face.

"I'm fine if you are." He smiled. "I'm glad you didn't get hurt, Tav." He reached up, cupping Tavros' face. "Are the nurses coming? I think I'm bleeding…"

"You are." He said softly, looking behind him. "They are… Gamzee…" he felt tears roll down his cheeks. "Gamzee…."

"I love you Tav." Gamzee smiled.

The nurses came in. "Tavros, can you move a little? We need to get to his head wound."

"Y-Yeah…." He said softly, scooting back across the ground, biting his lip. "Nn…." He hummed, frowning. "Is… Is he gonna be okay?"

"We'll clean this up and then get him an x-ray just to make sure that nothing is damaged internally." She said, wiping the wound clean with an alcohol pad. "Were you injured at all?"

"I don't think so." He said quietly, "I mean, besides being frightened, I think I'm fine." He replied, swallowing hard.

"You know, you really mean a lot to him. He talks about you a lot in therapy." She smiled at Tavros. "He's lucky to have you. We'll have him in x-ray in about 5 minutes or so."

"Okay." He smiled, wetting his lips. "I'm glad he'll be okay." He looked at the nurse, smiling. "I'm glad to have him. He helped me through my amputation and through all my surgery and fittings for my legs. It's really nice having someone who is so strong to help me move around."

"Well, I have to take him now but you can stay here if you want." She smiled at Tavros. "I'll bring him right back." A few minutes later, Gamzee came back to his room

"Hey Tav." He smiled sitting down and wrapping himself around his love. "They said they'll come in with the results of the x-ray."

Tavros smiled, leaning against him, wiping his tears. "I'm sorry… I was just so scared." He whispered, looking at him with big eyes. "I thought he was going to hurt you…. Really bad."

"He wasn't aiming for me…" Gamzee said quietly. "That's why I put you behind me. I can take a lot more than you can." He kissed the top of Tavros' head. "I'm glad he didn't get to you though. I'm sorry Tav. He was trying to hurt you because of me…"

"No… I'm sure he hates me." He shrugged his shoulders, feeling rather apathetic. "He wanted to hurt me because of you only because he's not getting whatever it is he wants from you anymore…. That's my fault." He frowned. "I'm really sorry." He whispered, biting his lip.

"It's okay. It just proved even more that I don't need people like him." Gamzee snuggled Tavros closer. "What I said about only needing you is true. You're my everything. They'll be around for dinner orders soon. Maybe you should have Sollux bring you something to eat."

"I can order something from the cafeteria." He smiled. "Would that be okay if I ate dinner with you?" he asked, smiling.

"That would be better than okay, Tav." Gamzee smiled at Tav. "The food here isn't that great but its food." He joked. "You're kisses are so much more delicious." He laughed.

Tavros turned pink. "G-Gamzee, don't say such embarrassing things." He blushed darkly. "G-Guh…" he leaned against him gently, looking up.

The pair ordered dinner together and were able to go out into the main dining hall and eat. Tavros smiled, chowing down on the food. Gamzee was right. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't half bad. He smiled and ate with Gamzee. They settled down and watched part of a TV show before Tavros had to leave. "I'll be by again tomorrow okay?" he smiled, gently touching his face, wrapping his arms around him tightly.

"I'll be waiting." Gamzee smiled, hugging him back. "I love you Tav." He looked down at Tavros. "Tell Sollux I said hi and thanks for bringing you up. I'll see ya tomorrow." He kissed his forehead gently before pulling away, waving as Tavros left the building.

A couple months later, Gamzee was finally released from the rehab facility. He gathered the drawings that he had drawn and sighed as he changed into the clean change of clothes that Tavros had brought him the day before. He couldn't wait to be home and sleep in his bed with his love in his arms.  
>"Gamzee, the paper work is all done and Tavros called. He said they would be here in a few minutes, they had to pick something up." The nurses said.<p>

"Thanks." He smiled. "I can't wait to see Tav and Sollux and everyone else. Besides Karkat though, he's still in Italy." He mumbled.

Tavros and Sollux walked through the door. Spring had come early this year. Sollux was dressed in black baggy shorts and a yellow shirt as always, his skin still pale as always. Tavros was wearing a light green shirt and a pair of brown pants as he hurried in, wrapping his arms tightly around Gamzee.

"Hey Tav! Hey Sollux." Gamzee smiled at the pair, wrapping his arms around Tavros. "You that excited that I'm coming home?" He laughed.

"Yes of course!" Tavros said with a grin, smiling brightly. "I'm really, really excited." He grinned, shifting around a little. "I'm happy you're coming home. I fixed a little bit of food."

Sollux smirked. "Thup."

"I'm excited to be coming home. I miss having a Tavros sized sleeping buddy." He smiled down at Tavros. Gamzee looked at Sollux. "Hey. Have you heard from Karkat? I got a letter from him a couple days ago saying that he had sent you some recipes."

"Yeah, I had gotten a few thingth from him a bit ago. Thome of the thit he thendth me I can't make. Ith waaaay too complicated." He laughed a little, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "He called me today too. He'th picking up an accent. Ith cute."

"I bet." Gamzee smiled. "So what are we having for dinner tonight Tav? I'm starving."

"Just some things Sollux helped me make. He's getting better at cooking. Karkat will be really happy." He grinned. "I think we're having a lemon basil chicken. Sollux made it for Karkat before he left on his trip and he said it was really, really good."

"That sounds good. I can't wait." Gamzee said getting into the car. "Is that a Faygo I see?" He smiled. "Tav, did you bring me Faygo?" he pulled Tavros into a hug. "I love you."

"Yeah." He handed him the bottle of Red pop Faygo, grinning like a mad fool. "Heeee."

Sollux rolled his eyes. "That thtuff ith like … Fucking battery athid."

"I like it and that's all that matters. You want to talk about battery acid, watch one of Kar's romcoms." Gamzee smiled. "That shit is like battery acid in the eye. Hey Sollux, your phone is ringing."

Karkat sat on the phone, it was night in Italy and he wanted to hear Sollux's voice.

Sollux picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked. The numbers never showed up on his phone. He had dropped it too many times.

"Hey Sollux! I miss you." Karkat smiled into the phone.

"Is it Karkat? Tell him I said hi!" Gamzee smiled.

Sollux smiled. "Hey..." he smiled, grinning as he looked at everyone. "Gamzee says hi. He'th coming home today." He smiled even brighter. "How are you?"

"Tell him that I said hi. I am amazing right now because I get to come home soon. The head chef said that I have already surpassed all his other students and that he would gladly give me a recommendation to work in a 5 star restaurant. So, can you be at the airport at 3 pm on Wednesday?" Karkat said into the phone.

"Oh... Oh wow!" Sollux grinned wide. "Y-Yeah! That'd be fine!" his face lit up, "I can do that. I... I will thee you then okay?" he smiled and fought the urge to jump up and down before he click the phone off after saying goodbye. "KK ith coming home early."

"Oh great!" Tavros said with glee. "That's awesome!"

"That's fucking miraculous!" Gamzee smiled. "I bet he is so excited!" Gamzee curled up with Tavros in the back seat. "This is awesome!"

Sollux drove back to the apartment complex. He dropped Tavros and Gamzee off at their apartment before parking and getting his things together to back upstairs.

He opened the door finding Vriska standing in the middle of his living room

"What the fuck." Sollux glared, looking at her with dark eyes. "Why the fuck are you in my apartment?"

"I have a computer problem." She pouted, pointing to her laptop which was on the couch. "You reaaaaaaaally gotta learn to start locking your door, Sollux." She swished her blue and black hair away from her face. She looked pretty much the same. She wore an eye patch behind black coke bottle rim glasses. Her eye just... Didn't exist anymore. She kept it hidden. She had a perfect hour glass figure. Anyone would want her, male... Female... It didn't matter. She had the curves to rival Feferi, and Feferi was very attractive.

Sollux made a mental note not to think that thought again.

"Well whath wrong with it?" he hadn't spoken much to Vriska since back on Alternia. He had seen her at Christmas with everyone together again, but he never spoke to her.

"It won't start." She looked sad about this and Sollux sighed and got to work fixing it.

He had kind of become the repair man of the apartment complex... And he hated that title. At least he was good at fixing computers, he thought, that was something at least to be happy about. He sat down on the couch, the laptop on the coffee table as he started working on it. Vriska walked into the kitchen, making both of them drinks.

"Here you go Sollux. It's warm out there. Gotta stay hydrated." She winked at him.

Gross.

Sollux rolled his eyes and settled back to working on the computer. Vriska worked her way through to Sollux's bedroom, finding little things here and there that she brought back out asking about.

"Hey Sol, what's this?" she held up a little plastic bee thing that Karkat had brought him at Christmas time.

"A gift from KK. Pleathe put it back."

Vriska couldn't help but giggle every time Sollux said anything starting with the letter S.

"Hey, Sol, do you still have those... Powers of yours? You know... What are they called?"

"Pthionicth and yeth." He grumbled. Vriska snorted. She mentally added words that started with "PS" to her list as well. Sollux grumbled.

"You did thith on purpouth didn't you?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. "You methed up your computer tho bad ith gonna take me thith long to fix it tho you can go through all my thtuff." He glared at her. Vriska smiled innocently, walking over, dragging her blue fingernails over Sollux's chin as she went to sit down.

"Well you see." She started, "That's part of it. But the maiiiiiiiin thing is that I haven't seen you in a long time and I haven't talked to you. What's a girl to do when an attractive man is around, hmmm?" she smiled. Sollux stuck out his tongue.

"I don't know what the fuck happened to you Vrithka, but thith ith not like you..." He went back to working on the computer.

Vriska snaked her hand up his thigh, making Sollux cringe. "What the fuck!" he turned over to look at her, swatting her hand away. "Will you thtop molethting me?" he grumbled, his eyes narrowing. She giggled and retracted her hand.

"Sorry~" she hummed, smiling as she relaxed.

It was then that Sollux remembered that he wasn't the only one with powers. He felt someone trying to probe his mind.

Vriska still had her mind control powers.

Sollux turned and faced her, his eyes dark. Before he could access his psionics, Vriska was over him, pinning him down. "Fuck." He cringed, feeling her breath hot on his neck.

"Well then, Captor." She smiled, her fingers trailing the edge of his shirt. "What do you have to say about this?" Sollux stared at her feeling every ounce of his body hating her right now. This wasn't even blackrom. This was pure hatred.

"If thith ith thome thort of elaborate plan to get me and KK to theperate, you're crathy." He spat, wishing he still had those talons of nails he did back on Alternia. He could have torn Vriska to pieces.

"Don't you know?" she said, grinning as her face got closer and closer to his, her lips almost brushing against Sollux's. "Spiders often prey on smaller, weaker males." She said as she closed the distance between their mouths.

If, Sollux decided (in this very moment), he hadn't followed through with his plan to be with Karkat back on Alternia, he may have found himself with either Eridan or Vriska... Both of which right now in this moment made him want to jump off a bridge. Vriska was a wonderful kisser. Karkat was better. He was... Clumsier with his actions. Sollux felt Vriska pull back away, her hair finally letting him be able to see.

"This isn't going to be fun if you're not going to fight back." Vriska huffed, glaring at him. Sollux shrugged.

"Why bother?" he asked. "I don't like you like thith, and you forthing yourthelf on me ithn't going to make anything better at all." He said, quirking an eyebrow.

"You could at leaaaaaaaast have the decency to kiss a girl back."

"And why would I do that? I'd be breaking my promith to KK by doing that." Vriska growled.

"Sollux Captor, I will have my way." She said, defiantly. Sollux laughed.

"Ahahahah! Thath funny."

Vriska growled and leaned down, attacking his lips once more, this time biting down hard on his lower lip. She drew blood, which made Sollux flinch, his mouth parting for just long enough. Vriska did get her way. She smiled, pulling back, saliva dripping from her lips.

"Well then." She said, flipping her hair back behind her ears. "That wasn't so bad now was it, Captor."

Sollux, who was still being pinned down, tasted his own blood in his mouth and growled. Using a blast of his psionics, he was able to pick Vriska up off of him and pin her to the middle of the floor.

"Vrithka." He glared. "How many timeth do I have to tell you." He shut her computer lid. "You come back for thith later. If I thee you again today, I will theriouthly hurt you." He stepped over her, spitting down on her shirt, his blood staining the fabric. "Find a mate elthwhere. I have one." He opened the door with his powers, shoving Vriska out before he slammed it shut, locking the deadbolt.

He slumped against the door frame. "Ugh..." he went over to his computer, and used Skype to call Karkat. He turned on the webcam, taking a tissue and wiping his mouth.

"Sollux!" Karkat smiled as he answered the call. "How are you love? Why is there blood on your lip? Are you okay? Too much fondling yourself?" Karkat laughed. "I've got everything besides what I'm going to be wearing for the next couple days packed."

"No, Vrithka came and attacked me." He grumbled, wiping his lip on the tissue. "I'm glad you're coming home." He said, smiling sweetly. "I'm very glad in fact." He grinned. "Maybe you can help me get thith fucking groth tathte out of my mouth." He frowned.

"I was planning on more than that." Karkat smiled. "When I get home, I am yours. I understand how ya feel though. Some Italian guy started hitting on me earlier when I was shopping for little gifts for all of the people I like. It was creepy." He shuddered. "Why can't it be Wednesday? I miss you."

"I mith you too." He couldn't help but smile at Karkat's adorable picked up accent. "Do you have a roommate? I've never met him if you do." He laughed a little, smiling,

"No. I would have told you if I did. Besides, I'm one of 3 guys here." He laughed a little. "Why are you smiling so much? I know you're talking to me but you don't really ever smile this dorkily."

"You have an accent KK." He grinned, "You thound... Like... Well... Italian." he snorted, leaning back in his chair a bit. "Ith almotht like Eridan'th fancy accent." He smiled.

"Do I really? Dammit. You seem to like it, with that dorky grin on your face so I guess it's not so bad." Karkat sighed. "Whatever accent I have is a million times better than Eridan's. By the way, thanks for sending me one of your shirts. It made me happy."

"You're welcome." He smiled. "I thtill have several of yourth here. You thould buy me thomething from over there. I don't care what it ith. Clotheth maybe? Idk. The italianth have thome ugly clothing." He smirked.

"I already got you something." He smiled. "You'll love it. Should I give you a hint or can you wait a couple more days?"

"Hmmmm..." he tapped his chin. "I think I can wait." He smiled. "Bethideth." He held up a bag that had a gift for Karkat inside it. "Thith ith for you too." He smiled.

"You didn't have to get me anything Sollux. All I need is a long cuddle nap with you when I get home and I'm happy. This of course comes with lots of kisses." He smiled. "I found this honey that tastes almost exactly like you. It made me happy."

Sollux quirked an eyebrow, "What part of me?" he laughed, shifting a little in his chair. "Damn thith really hurtth." He wiped more blood from his lip. "Thhe fucking bit me."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Karkat smirked. "I'll let you guess. Sollux, you need to clean that out with peroxide or alcohol. Returning to your roommate question. That call a couple weeks ago, you know the one I'm talking about. Yeah, that wouldn't have happened if I had a roommate. Neither would any of the ones before it."

Sollux blushed. "I'm thorry..." he whimpered, looking down. "I couldn't help it." He shook his head. "I'll wathh my mouth out with mouth wathh when I get off here talking to you. It jutht thtingth a little, but itth jutht thtupid. Thhe thtill hath her powerth like I do. The mind control." He sighed. "I'm glad I'm thtrong."

"My poor baby." Karkat said softly. "I wish I could kiss it and make it better but sadly, I'm still in Italy. Why was she even at our place to begin with?" He asked. "I suppose it doesn't really matter though. Thank you for not doing anything with her... I love you Sollux."

"I love you too. Thhe had a computer problem and it couldn't have been helped," he started. "I will tell you though that thhe did kith me. Thath how the bit me." He said, shaking his head. "I pretty much told her to fuck off. I threw her out on her athh." He grinned. "That wath fun. I mith you tho much."

"Nice. I miss you too. It's really late here so I'm going to go. I love you Sollux." Karkat smiled.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow." He smiled and waved bye before shutting it off.


	25. Chapter 25

The next couple of days couldn't pass fast enough. He sighed as he drove to the airport late in the evening, rubbing his eyes. Karkat's plane had been delayed due to weather. He stood and waited as the people slowly filed off the plane with carryon bags in hand.

Karkat got off of his plane, happy to be back home. He looked toward the windows as he went down the stairs, his black carry-on in hand. He couldn't get the silly grin off of his face. He was so excited to see Sollux again. Finally, he made it to the waiting area. Seeing Sollux, he took off, running toward his love. He dropped the bag before jumping into Sollux's arms, wrapping his legs around his waist. "I missed you so much."

Sollux nearly fell backwards. "Guaaaaahhhhh..." he hugged Karkat tightly, smiling into his shirt. "Mmmmmmmmm..." he hummed, "Feet down..." he said. "Or I'll fall." He laughed a little, feeling Karkat touch the ground. "Mmmm.." he wrapped his arms tight around him, holding him tight. "I mithed you tho much." He kissed his head gently, smiling.

"I love you. Fuck, I really do have an accent don't I?" Karkat laughed. "Let's go get my luggage and then go home. You owe me lots of kisses and cuddles."

"Yup." He said softly, picking up his carryon bag. "Mm... Come on." He led him back towards the luggage pick up. They grabbed his suitcase and headed out to Sollux's car. "Mmm... You'll have to keep me awake on the ride home. I'm ekthauthed." He put the car in reverse and made his way out of the parking garage, paying at the gate as they began their way back to their apartment.

"What have you been doing besides fixing Vriska's computer?" Karkat asked. "Cuddle naps as soon as we get home sounds amazing."

"Cleaning, doing a little bit of thopping here and there. Cooking." He shrugged. "Uthual thtuff." He said, smiling a little. "Nothing interethting."

"Cooking? Tav told me that you're getting better." Karkat smiled. "Maybe I can show you some of the things I learned in Italy. How does that sound? What have you been shopping for?"

"I thopped for a new couch." He said quietly. "Tavroth accidentally ripped part of it open when he that down. Tho I bought a nice new one." He smiled. "You'll like it. Ith black leather. Really comfortable,"

"Sounds fancy." Karkat laughed. "How is Gamzee dealing with being home and going back to school? Tav said he's still having fits occasionally."

"He ith, but they're not nearly ath bad ath they were. I'm glad he got through it." He smiled. "It was wonderful that he made thuch a quick recovery." He grinned. "The couch ith nice for watching movieth on." He smiled. "I watched a bunch of your movieth while you were gone."

"Really? Why?" Karkat was confused. "You fall asleep every time! I'm glad he's doing good. I'll have to go visit them in a couple days, since I probably won't be leaving the apartment for a couple days." Karkat smirked. "And I'm completely okay with that."

"Yeah." He smiled a little. "I managed to watch a few of the funnier oneth without thleeping." He said, smiling widely. They pulled into the apartment complex. Sollux put the car in park and they got out. Sollux grabbed the luggage before taking them upstairs to their apartment. "Welcome home." He grinned, carrying the suitcases into the bedroom.

"That's a nice phrase to hear." Karkat smiled. "Now set that shit down and kiss me." He grinned.

Sollux grinned and set it down, turning around, kissing Karkat gently, parting his lips, lapping at Karkat's, begging for entry.

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux's neck, parting his lips so his lover's tongue could enter. He moaned softly, having missed the feeling of Sollux's lips against his. Karkat pulled back a little. "Now, I'm home." He smiled.

He grinned. "I'll help you unpack tomorrow. Leth get to bed. I'm ekthouthted." He whispered, kissing him again. "Thower firtht?" he asked, smiling. "Like old timeth."

"Did you have to ask?" Karkat smiled up at him. "I missed you so much Sollux. It's so nice to be home." He kissed Sollux one final time before heading back to the bedroom to steal a pair of Sollux's pajama bottoms before going to the bathroom to shower.

They both stripped down, standing under the hot water kissing and washing one another. They dried and dressed again, going to the bedroom. Sollux moved the suitcases to the floor as they both climbed into bed. Sollux wrapped his arms tightly around Karkat, kissing him deeply. "Mmm..."

Karkat smiled into the kiss. Home, to him, was wherever Sollux was. He let his fingers entangle themselves into Sollux's hair, missing the feel of it. He pulled away. "What happened to being exhausted?" He smirked. "Or did you miss me that much?"

"I mithed you that much." He said, smiling. "I love you, and thereth nothing wrong with a few kitheth before bed."

"Never said there was." Karkat smiled, kissing him again. "But we have all day tomorrow and every day after because I am not leaving the country again unless you come with me."

Sollux nodded. He curled up with Karkat and fell asleep.

Karkat woke up in the morning, a heat on his chest. He looked down, seeing Sollux as he smiled. "My baby..." He ran his fingers through Sollux's hair. He couldn't remember in that moment why he had ever wanted to go to Italy and he was glad that he had turned down the year in France. "Never leaving your side again." He whispered into Sollux's ear.

Sollux mumbled something softly, but it was unheard. He shifted slightly, rubbing his eyes. "Nnnn..."

"Morning sleepy head." He whispered, still playing with Sollux's hair. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine." he mumbled, yawning big. "Nnn..." he hummed softly.

"Good." Karkat smiled softly. "I missed waking up like this."

"Thame." he smiled, leaning against him. "I mithed you... I mithed waking up and themelling you."

"I love you." Karkat whispered, gently kissing Sollux's forehead.

"I love you too." he mumbled against Karkat's stomach.

"That tickles!" Karkat squirmed.

He buzzed his lips against the skin, grinning at his reaction. "Heh."

"SOLLUX! STOP IT!" Karkat starts to squirm frantically. "PLEASE!"

Sollux grinned gently biting down on his stomach, blowing another raspberry against his skin.

"STOP! PLEASE! SOLLUX I LOVE YOU!" Karkat screamed with bursts of laughter.

He grinned and gripped his sides, blowing harder. "Hehehehe"

"STOP PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU!" Karkat screamed. "AHH!"

He laughed, "Why?" he smirked, snuggling his skin against his. "Hmmm?"

Karkat moved quickly to pin Sollux onto the bed. "Revenge." He smiled as he started to blow raspberries on Sollux's stomach.

Sollux flailed. "GAAH! THAT FEELTH WEIRD"

Karkat smirked before starting to kiss Sollux's skin, gently moving closer to Sollux's groin. "What feels weird?"

"You ... Blowing againtht my thomach." He shivered violently. "G-Gah KK, what are you doing?"

"Nothing." He kissed a little lower. "Why? You seem to be getting... Excited..." He smirked.

Sollux shivered. "Well you're doing that... T-thtop I-well d-don't thtop..."

"Well, which is it? Stop or don't stop?" He sat up a little, a grin on his face.

"Nnn... D-don't." he breathed, looking at him.

Karkat leaned down, closer to Sollux's groin before kissing until he got to the rim of his pants. "Should I continue?"

"Y-Yeth." he whispered.

Karkat pulled Sollux out of his pants with his hands, smirking before running his tongue over the head of the bottom most one. "Did you miss this too?"

Sollux shuddered with delight. "O-ohh gog yeth..." he panted, his hands shaking as they found their way to Karkat's hair.

Karkat ran his tongue over the slit a few times before taking the head into his mouth as he his gently stroked the other. He liked the way that Sollux tasted. It was sweet and a little salty, kinda like honey. 'No wonder I went through that entire jar in 2 days...' he thought to himself as he worked.

Sollux panted, whimpering. "Karkat thith ith torture." he breathed, moaning quietly as he ran his fingers through Karkat's hair.

Karkat pulled back. "No. Me moving away and locking myself in the bathroom with you like this is torture. This is fun." He ran his tongue up the shaft. "Unless you want to be tortured." He smirked.

"N-No..." he breathed, looking at him. "M-Maybe another time, but I'm really needy right now." he breathed,

"I can tell. You poor baby. You've been deprived." Karkat pursed his lips around the head before bringing it completely into his mouth, stroking him a little faster.

Sollux panted, gasping for air. He felt amazing. "Ngh fuck KK, I've mithed thith." he breathed.

Karkat worked his tongue around the shaft before pulling back and switching his attention to the other, his hand moving down. He liked doing this, it got Sollux off a lot faster and made him want more, which is exactly what Karkat was aiming for.

"Fuck... Fuck fuck." he panted, glaring at the ceiling. "Nnghh gog damn..." he breathed, shifting his hips. "KK... Ugh."

Karkat pulled back. "Did you want something?" He asked, crawling up Sollux's body. He stopped right where Sollux's erections were rubbing against the cloth restraining his own.

"You." he said. "Thtrip."

Karkat grinned widely as he sat up on his knees, making a show out of slipping the pajama bottoms over his hips.

"Ngh fuck." He wet his lips gently, blushing darkly. "KK..."

Karkat ran his hands up Sollux's chest. "Yes, Sollux?" He purrs, leaning down so his chest rests on Sollux's chest.

"Gog... I couldn't stand looking at you in thothe pantth any longer."

"Perv." Karkat smiled. "But that's okay." He shifts so that he is straddling Sollux. "What do you want to do now?"

"What do you think?" he grinned, grinding his hips up.

Karkat moaned, letting his head fall back. After a moment, he shifted his gaze to Sollux. "I think we're needing something..." He smirked.

"Duh." he replied, quirking an eyebrow. "You. Lube up. I'm not doing the work thith time." he grinned. "I wanna watch."

Karkat glared at him. "You really are a perv. Do you like watching me that much?" He scoffed. "Is it still in the same spot?"

"Yup. All of the above." He smirked, winking at him.

"Perv." He leaned down, kissing Sollux deeply for a moment before pulling back and setting on his short but fruitful mission to find the lube. After grabbing the bottle, he looks at Sollux. "Do you want me on top of you as I do this? Since you're a perv and all, I thought I'd ask." He smirked.

Sollux grinned widely and nodded. "Yeth. I would like that very much."

Karkat blushed darkly as he put the lube on his fingers, spreading it evenly. Using one hand to steady himself he reached down, rubbing his entrance as the blush on his cheeks became darker.

Sollux grinned. "Go on..." he smirked.

Karkat glared at Sollux before the blush returned as he slipped his finger inside. "Aaaahn..." He moaned softly, moving his finger.

Sollux grinned, putting his arms behind his head. "Thith ith a nice view."

"Fuck you." Karkat mumbled slipping another inside. "Oh gog... Sollux... Your fingers are bigger than mine... Please..." He started to move his fingers a little faster.

Sollux grinned. "Mine are longer too." he grinned, shifting his hips a little.

"Don't move fuckass." Karkat moaned. He moved his fingers faster. He looked up at Sollux, his face bright red as he grabbed Sollux's hand with his free one, holding it tightly. "If you don't start touching me then I'm going to get myself off..."

Sollux grinned, using one of his hands to gently stroke Karkat's length. "Mmm~ Or I could."

"Gog... Please." Karkat begged, his fingers still moving inside him. "Please Sollux..."

Sollux grinned. "I'm right here and ready for you. Put me in… Go on."

Karkat slowly slid his fingers from himself before scooting back to cover Sollux with lube. "You're such a dick." Karkat mumbled as he situated himself over Sollux, guiding both in. "Aaaaahn. Sollux."

Sollux moaned. "Oh fuck KK... I mithed thith a lot." he smirked, thrusting his hips up.

Karkat moaned, gripping Sollux's hand tightly. "Gog... Sollux..." He whimpered.

Sollux grinned, moving his hips against Karkat as much as he could.

Karkat shifted so Sollux could go deeper into him. He moved his hips with every thrust of Sollux's moaning loudly each time. It had been entirely too long since he had the real thing and not the vibrator Sollux had sent him for when they video chatted.

Sollux smirked. "Nnn~" he hummed, thrusting up into him. "Fuck KK... Ung..."

"Sollux... Harder... Please..." He whimpered, slamming his hips down as a loud moan escaped his mouth.

Sollux grinned. Using his psionics, he lifted them into the air, pinning Karkat against the wall, slamming into him.

Karkat moaned loudly. "Gog, Sollux." Karkat pushed his hips forward, begging with his movements for Sollux to be rough with him.

Sollux shifted so it looked like he was standing. He pushed Karkat against the wall. "Turn around." he said. "Ignore that we're floating. Turn around and put your handth on the wall."

"Wait... We're floating?" Karkat asked softly. "When the fuck did we start floating?"

"Jutht thut up and turn over." he said, gently helping him turn around.

"Fuck... Sollux, please don't let me fall..." Karkat whimpered, pushing back against Sollux. "Ah, gog please..."

"I won't." he smiled, thrusting hard into him. "Jutht look at the wall and enjoy."

Karkat instead closed his eyes, giving himself a slight case of sensory deprivation. He pushed his hips back against Sollux's. "Nngh." He moaned quietly.

He grabbed hold of Karkat's hips. He slammed inside of him. "Jutht don't releathe on the wall. Tell me when you're gonna and I'll go back to the bed. I don't wanna clean that off the wall."

Karkat nodded quickly. He didn't care if he released on the wall or on the bed or in a bucket. He just wanted Sollux to thrust harder. "Harder!" He moaned, trying not to dig his nails into the wall.

Sollux slammed into him harder, digging his nails into Karkat's hips.

"Sollux... I'm about to..." Karkat moaned. "Please... Harder..."

"I'm going ath hard ath I fucking can." he growled, slamming into him, "Nngh fuck."

Karkat cried out, releasing onto whatever the hell was closest to him. "I was talking about your nails..." Karkat mumbled.

Sollux growled, biting down hard on Karkat's shoulder as he thrust into him, releasing.

"Aahn." Karkat moaned, pushing hard against Sollux. "Oh gog... That is amazing..."

A few months passed and Karkat had been approached again about an overseas trip, this time to Paris. The day arrived for Karkat to leave and he was excited but sad at the same time. He finished putting his bags into the trunk of the car.

Sollux kissed Karkat gently, before they got into the car. "I'm gonna mith you. You know how to reach me and you know how to bug me too." he grinned. "I love you KK."

"I love you too Sollux." He kissed Sollux one more time before getting into the car. "I'll probably have a French accent when I come back.." Karkat sighed but smiled. "I'm glad you like accents."

"You can thay it'th like a ..." he tapped his chin. "Fetithh?" he quirked an eyebrow. "It maketh you thound thekthy."

"Fetish? Really? You're such a dork." Karkat laughed. "I love you."

"I love you more." he grinned and leaned against the car, gently moving Karkat between his legs. "Bake pretty thingth for me okay?" he grinned. "You have to make me food when you come back." he kissed him gently.

Karkat smiled and nodded. "Don't forget to feed yourself. I have spies ya know." He chuckled, setting his hands on Sollux's chest. He leaned his head against Sollux's chest, taking a deep breath. "I'm going to miss you."

"If your thpieth are Tavroth and Gamthee, then I already know. I do eat, KK. I jutht forget thomethinmeth."

"Ah damn. My plan has been ruined." Karkat smiled up at him. "My plane leaves in an hour, we have to go..."

Sollux nodded. He smiled and kissed him gently again before getting in the car and driving to the airport. He left Karkat with kisses and hugs, giving him a small bee charm for his bag so he couldn't forget about him. He drove back home, parking his car and walking up to his apartment.

James walked out of his apartment. "Hey Sollux! You and Karkat still live in the same building? I just moved in!" He laughed.

Sollux blinked. "Oh." he said, brushing his hair from his eyes. "Hi." he crossed his arms. "Thup?"

"Not much. I was just finishing unpacking. I happened to see you and Karkat before you left when I was taking a break." He smiled. "Where did he go? If you don't mind telling me."

"He'th flying to Parith to thtudy for 6 monthth." he shrugged. "He wath in Italy all latht year." he smiled. "He'th been home for a while. I jutht dropped him off at the airport."

"Studying what?" James asked. "That sounds like a lot of fun, being able to travel the world. If you two are that loaded then why the hell are you living here?" He laughed.

"Everything of hith ith being paid for by thcolarthip." He shrugged. "Heth in cooking thcool. Heth learning French cooking."

"That's so cool. He must be really good if they are paying for him to go places to study." He smiled. "I know that it's all in the past and everything but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for trying to break you and Karkat up. You two are obviously perfect for each other. Especially if you can still be so close after being apart for a year." He said softly.

Sollux grinned. "Yeah. Thkype ith a wonderful thing. I try and talk to him every day." he felt warm inside. "We have a lot of trutht in one another."

"That's nice. I actually just got out of a relationship..." James sighed. "I still have a little bit of a black eye..."

"Ouwth." he frowned. "Hey, come in for thome coffee or thomething." he smiled a little and leaned on his door.

"Really? Thanks man." James smiled following him into the apartment. "This is nice. Just like I remember... What's with all the bee stuff?"

"Oh thath me." he blushed a little. "I like beeth." he walked into the kitchen, turning on the coffee he had set up earlier that morning.

"That's cute." He smiled. "Does Karkat like crabs? He is a crabby little fuck, isn't he?"

"Yeah. Beeth and crabth." he smiled. He poured two cups of coffee. He grabbed the sugar and cream before dumping alot of both in his coffee along with some honey.

"Wow... Are you part bee or something? That's a lot of honey." James smiled taking his cup. "How does Karkat put up with all that sweetness?" He laughed.

"No. I uthed to take care of beeth back where I uthed to live." he smiled. "I really like honey a lot. Ith my favorite food."

"That explains the obsession with honey." he nodded. "Is Karkat excited about going to Paris?"

"Yeah." he smiled. "Ath far ath I'm aware." he said, grinning. "I think he loveth traveling." He passed James the hot cup of coffee. "Here you go." he said, sipping his own cup.

"How do you feel about him running off to faraway destinations while you're stuck here?" James asked. "I don't mean to pry but you just look really sad..."

"I don't mind being thtuck here, but ith lonely." he shrugged. "I make it through thomehow. Thome dayth are better than otherth."

"Well, I do live right down the hall. We can hang out whenever you want. Well, that's not entirely true... I have a job but we can hang out after that if you want." James smiled at Sollux.

Sollux nodded. "I've got thome video gameth. I bought a p... Oh gog I can't thay it... That thing." he pointed into the other room to the ps3 attached to the TV.

"A PS3? Those are awesome but x-box is better." James smirked.

"Yeah." he smiled. "I dunno, I mean, I haven't played video gameth in a while. I'm getting thtarted on thome." he shrugged his shoulders, grinning.

"Awww. How cute that you devote all your time to Karkat! I bet he loves that." James laughed.

"He doeth." he smiled, taking another sip of his coffee. "He loveth watching me play though."

"Why does he watch you play? Does he suck at video games?" James asked, chugging back half of his coffee.

"Heth not bad, but he jutht liketh watching me. He'll thit behind me and watch or he'll thit infront of me and get in the way." he laughed a little.

"You two are adorable!" James set his cup down before sitting back further into the couch.

Sollux smiled. "Yeah. I mith him already."

"Wanna play a game?" James asked, trying to cheer Sollux up.

"Thure." he said, pointing to the games on the shelf by the TV. "Hm..." he got up, looking through them. "Pick thomething. I'm going to change." he walked into the bedroom, closing the door. He changed into a pair of Karkat's baggy sleep pants and one of his shirts. "Guh I'm tho lonely." he muttered to himself, looking in the mirror.

"How do you feel about zombie games?" James asked when Sollux came back into the living room. "You have a couple of my favorites."

Sollux nodded. "That thoundth fine." he smiled a little, grabbing the game before popping it in, grabbing another controller for James.

"Don't wimp out on me when they start to attack us." James smirked as the pair made their way through the dark of the house.

"I'll try." he said, laughing a little as he waited for the first zombie to pop out from around the corner. Sollux screamed and almost threw his controller at the screen, mashing buttons madly.

"Sollux! CALM THE FUCK DOWN!" James yelled, shooting at the zombie. "Fuck man!"

Sollux mashed buttons, accidentally hitting the pause button. "Fuck..." he slumped back against the couch. "KK made me buy theth..." he shivered, his heart racing in his chest. "Guh..."

"Why? What would be the point besides watching you scream like a girl?" James laughed.

Sollux scowled. "He liketh them, and he liketh to make fun of me." he sighed loudly, going back to killing the zombies.

"Because you make it easy." James said. "It's just too easy to make fun of you."

"He thayth the thame thing." he grumbled, killing the last zombie before taking off down the hall in the game, shooting more around the corner.

"At least you can shoot." James said. "Everyone else that I can find to play with sucks at shooting."

"I'm amathing." he grinned, leaning back on the couch. "I have amathing aim."

"But you scream like a 5 year old girl when the zombies pop out at you." James laughed. "Amazing."

"Thut up." he glared at him, shooting down some more zombies. "I don't like to be jumped at."

"Then maybe I should talk to Karkat about breaking that habit." James smirked. The next few hours, the pair lost themselves in playing video games. "Sollux, you're phone is ringing."

Sollux paused the game, picking his phone up and walking into the bedroom, throwing himself on the bed as he answered. "Hello?"

"Hey! I made it to Paris!" Karkat smiled. "Just wanted to call and tell you that I love you."

"Aww, I love you too." he smiled, looking up at the ceiling. "Tho much. Thank you for calling me, baby." he grinned a little, twirling some of his hair around his finger.

Karkat smiled even wider. He loved it when Sollux called him baby. "So what are you up to?"

"Playing video gameth." he said. He didnt want to let Karkat know James was here. He'd tell him later.

"Well, I guess I'll let you go back to that. I'm almost at my dorm. I love you and I miss you." Karkat smiled softly.

"I mith you too. Thtudy hard okay?" he smiled, shifting around on the bed a little. "I love you tho much. Never forget that okay?"

"How could I ever forget that? I'll study hard. I love you Sollux. I'll call you later okay?" He didn't want to hang up the phone but he was almost at the dorm.

"I'll be here." he smiled. "Take care okay?"

"You too. Get some sleep tonight and call me baby one more time before I have to hang up." Karkat smirked.

"I will, baby." he laughed. "You're thilly KK, wanting me to call you all thethe weird thingth. Baby, thweetheart, honey. I like the latht one."

"You like calling me those names so shut up." He giggled. "I like it when you call me baby. It's cute."

"You thould call me thomething then." he smiled brightly.

"Like what?" Karkat asked. "Besides sexy, what would you let me call you?"

"Honey?" he laughed, "I don't know." he grinned and made a soft kissing noise. "KK, I mith you already." he said softly, smiling. "Tho much."

"I miss you too, love. See, I do call you cute names! I call you love!" Karkat made a soft kissing sound. "I love you. I'm at the dorm so I have to go but I'll be online later."

"Alright." he smiled. "I'll talk to you then. Have fun. You thleep well too okay?"

"I will. Bye love." Karkat said before hanging up the phone.

James sat in the living room killing more zombies. "Sollux! I'm dying out here man!"

Sollux hung up the phone, smiling. He rolled over and burried his face in Karkat's pillow. "Gog I'm going to mith him..." he sighed and got up, feeling a little teary eyed. He walked out and let out a soft sigh before he walked back over to the couch and picked up the controller.

"Karkat?" James asked. "You look like you're about to cry." James worried a little about whether or not Sollux would be able to take another 6 months without Karkat.

Sollux let out a shaky sigh. "I'll be fine." he said, closing his eyes for a moment, trying to fight back the tears. "I jutht mith him. It'll be okay. I know he'll be coming back thoon."

"Plus, you still get to talk to him everyday." James smiled softly. "Man, you can cry in front of me. I know that you're lonely and that you miss him."

"I won't cry. I mutht be thtrong." he said softly, biting down on the inside of his mouth. "I will be thtrong for him. He needth me jutht like I need him."

"Just because you cry doesn't make you weak. I'm sure he probably cries because he's lonely too." James put his hand on Sollux's shoulder. "Just let it out."

Sollux shook his head. "I can't." he whispered, clenching his fists around the controller. "I can't do that."

"It's getting late. I'm going to go. Come over whenever you want to hang." James sighed getting up. He didn't know what to do. Maybe Sollux wasn't crying because he didn't want to seem weak in front of James. "I'll see ya later."

"Alright." he managed a weak smile. "Thankth for coming over." he said, getting up and letting him out the door.

"Get some rest." James smiled. "I think Karkat would kill you if you let yourself go." He waved before making his way to his apartment, closing the door behind him. "Sollux is still an idiot."

Sollux fell to the ground behind the door, starting to sob quietly. "KK..." he whispered. "Gog I mith you..."

Karkat finished taking his suitcases into the dorm. He missed Sollux so much. He got his laptop out and signed in on Skype before pulling out his phone and messaging Sollux. "HEY LOVE. I'M ONLINE."

Sollux sniffled, grabbing his phone and reading the message before going over to the computer, flicking on the webcam. He wrapped himself in his bee blanket, pulling his knees up to his chest as the webcam came on.

"Hey love! Oh... Sollux..." Karkat's smiled dissipated when he saw that Sollux had been crying. "Baby... I miss you too."

"I'm thorry... I... I don't know what came over me, but I jutht really really mith you..." he sniffled, burying his face in his knees. "I'm thorry."

"It's okay Sollux. Look up." Karkat waited until he did before continuing. "I'm always right here. Hey, I left you a present under your pillow in the room. Go get it."

"O-Okay..." he sniffled and went into the other room, getting the note and the necklace. He came back, fumbling with the necklace as he slid it over his head. "T-thith ith cute... Thank you KK." He opened up the letter.

It read. "Sollux, Just read this whenever you get lonely. I love you and only you. I'll hurry and learn as much as I can so I can come back to you. No matter what, I'm here with you even if I'm not actually around you. Wow... That was cheesy but it's true. I love you so much, my little Honey Bee. 3 Karkat."

Sollux felt tears well up in his eyes again. "Oh gog KK... Thath tho thweet..." he sniffled, setting the note down next to his computer. "Guaaah..." he wrapped his arms around the bee pillow from the couch. "Nnnn... I'm thorry I'm thorry."

"No reason to be sorry. I miss you too, love." Karkat smiled. "I wish I was home... By the way, I left some chicken parm in the fridge for you for when you get hungry."

"Thank you." he sniffled, rubbing his eyes dry with a klenex. "I'll eat that tonight." he said quietly, his cheeks pink and eyes puffy from crying.

"I"m really tired so I'm going to go to bed. You should too." Karkat smiled. "I love you, Honey Bee." He smiled, his face turning pink with a light blush.

Sollux nodded, smiling a little. "I love you, KK." he said, blowing a kiss at the camera. "I love you tho much... And I'll talk to you tomorrow right?"

"Of course. I love you. Sleep well, love." Karkat blew a kiss at the camera. "I won't be very busy tomorrow so we'll have a long time to chat and stuff. Talk to you tomorrow." He waved a little before shutting the camera down. "I miss you so much Sollux." Karkat whispered, pulling Sollux's jacket around him.

Sollux got up, ate a quick dinner before going into their bedroom, curling around Karkat's pillow tightly, wrapping himself in the blanket. It was going to be a long 6 months.

Karkat started classes a few days later. He was so excited and was really enjoying learning about pastries and other French foods. He called Sollux everyday and they chatted on Skype every night. "Crepes are so easy to make! I have to send you the recipe!" Karkat smiled.

"Okay." he smiled, taking a sip of his tea. "I like that idea. " he smiled. "Thould I thend you thomething ath well?"

"Like what?" Karkat asked. "I have like 8 of your shirts and two of your hoodies..." He laughed. "Besides cute love notes, what else would you need to send?"

"I dunno." he shrugged, thinking. "Me?" he laughed. "I don't think I could do that." he smiled weakly and leaned back in his chair.

"What do you mean by that? You can't send yourself in the mail!" Karkat said. "Plus, we don't really have the money for you to come to France."

"I think we probably do have the money, but I don't think I could get on a plane like that." he shivered. "It'd be crathy. I'd prolly get really thick or thomething. It wath bad enough going to Dithney."

"Yeah." Karkat tried to not let his disappointment show on his face. "How is hanging out with James?"

"Tho far tho good. We've jutht been playing video gameth and thtuff." he smiled. "He'th taken a turn for the better. He lookth forward to theeing you when you get back."

"Really?" Karkat asked, a slight look of disgust on his face. "Is he going to hit on me again?"

"I doubt it. He thaid that we were pretty much made for one another." he smiled. "Ith nithe to know he'th not being all creepy again."

"Yeah. Hey guess what I learned!" Karkat smiled.

"What?" he smiled and rested his hands on his knees.

"I learned how to say I love you in French!" Karkat smiled. "You want to hear?"

Sollux smiled. "Thure." he said softly.

"Je t'aime." Karkat smiled. "Fuck... My roommate is coming back..."

"Can I meet him?" he smiled. "KK when you thpeak French ith thoundth funny." he grinned.

"Shut up. You like it." Karkat looked over to the other side of the room. "Hey Chris... Do you want to meet my boyfriend?" The guy nodded.

"I forgot that you are gay..." He laughed. "But sure." The tall blonde haired male appeared on screen. "Hi, I'm Chris. Karkat's roommate."

Sollux waved and smiled. "Ith nithe to meet you. I'm Thollukth." he mentally scowled himself. Stupid lisp.

"His name is Sollux." Karkat said.

Chris smiled. "My sister has a lisp so I'm used to it. It's nice to meet you too Sollux. If you don't mind me asking, how long have you two been together?"

"Oh gog..." He tapped his chin. "A long long long long time." he laughed. "I forgot how long... But ith been a long time."

Karkat smiled. "Dork. I'm going to get off of here. I have some studying I need to do but I wanted to call. I love you." Karkat smiled.

"Bye Sollux." Chris waved before moving back over to his bed.

"Bye." he smiled and turned off the webcam.

Karkat sighed as he pulled out his book. "I'm going to go to the practice kitchen and work on these knife practices. I'll be back later."

"See ya." Chris smiled.

"Sollux! Open the door! I'm bored!" James yelled as he knocked on the door.

Sollux got up and opened the door. "Hey." he said. "Jutht got done talking to KK on cam." he smiled.

"That's awesome but I got a new game!" James smiled. "And I'm bored as hell."

"What game?" he opened the door and let James inside.

"That game that we were talking about. The store that I work at got it in today and I bought a copy!" James smiled.

"Oh cool." he smiled, walking over to the couch, taking a seat. "Pop it in. I wanna play."

James turned the system on and put the game in, jogging over to the couch and taking his normal spot. "So how's Karkat?"

"Good. He'th got a lot of thtudying to do today, tho he won't be back until later tonight."

"That's cool. Does he have a roommate this time?"

"Yeah. Hith name ith Chrith. Theemth like a nice guy." he said, smiling.

"Let's just hope that he isn't gay." James said softly. "Karkat is too pretty so resist." He laughed.

"I don't think he ith." he smiled. "I heard him comment about KK being gay when he walked in." he smiled. "I don't think KK would do anything."

"I'm not talking about Karkat. Karkat is devoted to you, 100%. You can tell by the way he looks at you." James smiled. "If Chris isn't gay then everything is fine." That's when a thought popped into James' head. "Wait, Karkat has a roommate... So you two can't vid chat smut..." He looked over at Sollux. "Are you going to be okay? Should I buy you a vibrator?" He laughed.

Sollux's face went from pale to dark pink in moments. "G-Gah! No I don't need one of thothe thingth!" he fumbled the controller.

"That was funny as hell!" James laughed. "I can't fucking breathe!"

Sollux spluttered over words, denying any need for such an embarrasing device. "Bethideth I top!" he spluttered finally.

"Really? Holy shit. I can't believe that I forgot that!" James laughed even harder. "Please stop! I'm going to die!"

Sollux frowned and covered his face with the pillow on the couch. "Guhhhhhhhhh..." he grumbled quietly.

James laughed for a few more seconds. "I believe that you top. Karkat is too girly to top. But that was still funny."

"He'th topped before." he blushed. His voice slightly muffled from behind the pillow. "I don't mind bottoming."

"I bet that was interesting." James smiled. "I've only been bottom a few times. That's kinda why Scott punched me. I asked to top once..."

"Damn..." he frowned. "I like it. KK ith rough... Which ith nice. Ith perfect kithmethithtude."

"Ki-what?" James asked. "What the fuck is that?"

"Oh..." he thought about it for a second. "I... Really don't know how to tell you what that meanth, bethideth ith like... Hatred tho thick it turnth erotic. KK and I don't hate each other, but thath the only way I can dethcribe it."

"Then how does it work if you two don't hate each other?" James asked. "Is it just kinky, rough sex?"

"Yeah... Uthually I'm on bottom and he topth for that, but I'm fine with it." he shrugged. "I don't mind it."

"Nice." He smirked. "I need to go to a bar and get laid..." He sighed. "Too bad you're taken. I'm kidding by the way."

Sollux shrugged. He didn't know how to bring this up..."I have a thing for twoth." he said. "KK tetht to that."

"Is that supposed to be an invitation?" James asked pulling away a little. "I don't want to get my ass kicked by Karkat again. That shit hurts."

"I'll let you take that ath you thee it." he said, turning back to the TV.


	26. Chapter 26

James didn't know what to do. Sure, Sollux is highly attractive but he is taken by a little angry fuck, who has already kicked your ass once. "I'll think about it."

Sollux shrugged. "Alright." he said, smiling.

"How about you ask Karkat first and I'll tell you what I think then. How does that sound?" James said. He couldn't believe that he was practically agreeing to sleep with Sollux. He sighed. "I've got work in the morning so I'm going to go. Night Sollux."

"Night." he said, flopping back on the couch. "Gog..."he muttered. He was in need of something.

Karkat pulled out his phone, taking a picture of what he had carved out of the fruit before sending it with a message to Sollux. "LOOK WHAT I MADE!"

Sollux looked at the picture and smiled. "KK that2 adorable."

Karkat smiled. "I LOVE YOU, HONEY BEE."

"ii love you two." he didn't know how to bring it up to Karkat. He wanted something. He NEEDED something."Fuck..." he sighed quietly, trying not to die from frustration.

"SO HOW ARE YOU?" Karkat asked.

"fiine ii gue22. de2perate." he wrote back, letting his head rest against the pillow.

"FOR WHAT?" Karkat replied. "WHAT'S UP?"

"KK ii mii22 you iin the wor2t way riight now." he wrote back. "KK pleathe let me have a kithmethith..." he whispered, looking at his phone.

Karkat looked down at his phone. He could feel his heart breaking a little. He didn't want anyone else to touch Sollux but he knew that Sollux was still thinking in quadrants. "OKAY. TEMPORARY ONLY." He replied simply. Karkat sat his phone on the table, sitting down in one of the chairs and running his hands through his hair. "Why am I doing this?" He asked himself.

"temporary what?" he replied back, confused at the context.

"TEMPORARY KISMESIS. I'M THE ONLY PERSON YOU ARE ALLOWED TO BE SWEET TO." Karkat sent back, his heart breaking a little more. "Please be happy with this..." He whispered, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"KK... ii2 iit really okay? you dont 2ound 2ure." he sent the message and then dialed the phone, waiting for an answer.

Karkat couldn't answer the phone because he didn't want Sollux to know he was crying. "IT'S FINE. I'M TIRED SO I'M GOING TO BED. I LOVE YOU." He sent.

"KK plea2e an2wer the phone." he texted back, sighing. "KK ii dont want you to get angry at me... plea2e an2wer."

"I'M NOT MAD. I KNOW YOU STILL THINK IN QUADRANTS AND IT'S FINE. I WON'T STOP YOU. I UNDERSTAND." Karkat sent the message. "IF THIS WAS ALTERNIA, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT."

"KK... ii want you... two tell me what you want me two do." he wrote. "iim 2orry. ii wa2 raii2ed thii2 way for 7 2weep2 and ii can't break iit."

"I KNOW. THAT'S WHY IT DOESN'T BOTHER ME. IT'S OKAY. JUST REMEMBER THAT I LOVE YOU." Karkat wrote back. He sat the phone down, crying even harder. Even if they were still on Alternia, he would only want to be with Sollux and Sollux alone. "This was going to happen eventually. I just need to remember that he loves me and only me."

Sollux let out a choked sob. He called Karkat again. He knew he wouldn't answer. He couldn't leave a message. He got too choked up and hung up right at the beep.

"I LOVE YOU." Karkat sent.

Sollux sent back a message. "KK ii love you two. more than anythiing you know thii2 riight?"

"YES." Karkat sent back. He knew with all of his heart that Sollux loved him and only him but this still hurt. It made him feel like he wasn't good enough for Sollux. "JUST PLEASE BE CAREFUL IF YOU CHOSE A HUMAN. THEY'RE MORE BREAKBLE THAN WE ARE."

"ii know." he replied back, "KK ii'll 2how you my bruii2e2 and wound2 after okay? two prove two you that iit wa2 kii2me2ii2."

"OKAY." He replied. "BE CAREFUL. I DON'T WANT YOU TOO INJURED."

"ii know." he sent back. "ii love you."

"I LOVE YOU TOO. GOOD NIGHT LOVE." Karkat sent the message. He didn't want this but there was nothing he could do to stop it and if he tried, Sollux would probably get upset with him. Being an ex-troll, he knew how important it was to have your quadrants filled but he was glad with only having two of those filled. Gamzee was an awesome Moirail and Sollux. Sollux is the most amazing Matesprit that anyone could ever ask for.

A few days passed. Sollux was having the hardest time making a decision. He sat on the couch, looking up at the ceiling, sighing quietly. "Nn..." Eridan would be good because Eridan knew how to inflict damage in the right ways, plus he hated Eridan with a firey passion. But Eridan was with Fef, and he didn't want to get Fef involved.

James couldn't stop thinking about what to do. Sollux had opened an invitation to have sex even though he was dating Karkat. "What the hell am I supposed to do? Maybe if he explains why this Kismesis thing is okay where they're from, it will help me decide on what to do..." James sighed.

Sollux sighed and twirled his keys. Then there was James. He didn't know him...too well, but well enough. He could ignite the hate that he had for him long ago and then it would work. But then there was the issue of Sollux's problem. He frowned. "How in the hell am I gonna explain having two..." he grumbled, shaking his head.

James got off of his couch, throwing a shirt on before grabbing his keys and heading down the hall. "Sollux?" He knocked on the door. "Can we talk?"

Sollux got up, opening the door. "Whath up?" he asked, letting James in.

"What's the point in the kismesis thing? You and Karkat never told me where you guys are from so I don't even know where to start looking." James said in one hurried breath. "Why is it okay to be with someone else besides the person you love?"

Sollux sighed. "You have to keep thith quiet okay." he said, blinking at him. "We're not from here. Around here. Anywhere near here." he blinked at him. "Where I come from there are four quadranth. Two of them right now don't matter, but thereth the red one and the black one. The red one ith what Karkat and I have." he swallowed. "The black one ith hate. Ith kithmethith." he shivered. "Where I'm from, you had to fill both of thoeth tho you didn't get killed."

"That sounds harsh." James stated. "Does Karkat get a say in you having someone in that quadrant? Because I'm sure he doesn't want you to be with anyone but him..."

"I've talked to him. He told me that if I were to pick thomeone that it wath only to be temporary." he said. "But it hath to be blackrom. He doethn't think like thith anymore... But almost all the retht of uth do..."

"From what I know of him, I don't think he ever did..." James said quietly. "What does it mean to be someones kismesis?"

"Ith... Well... Like I thaid." he sighed quietly. "Ith brutal... Ith really rough… Therth loth of biting... Thcratching... Bleeding. Ith not meant to be fun... But... Thomehow it ith... Becauthe you're fulfilling thomething."

"So basically it's raw, rough and hard sex... Right?" He looked at Sollux. "And only sex?"

"I mean... I've had kithmethith with Eridan. Thomeone you don't know, but it wath a threethome to get him off my ath pretty much. He only wanted me for thex, and kithing really. " he shrugged. "But there was kithing and thex. I mean... Ith jutht... Hard to ekthplain."

"If you don't mind me asking, what made this come up?" He asked. "Was it because I started talking about you and Karkat having sex?"

"No.." he replied, looking down. "I mith Karkat in the wortht of wayth right now." he said softly. "And I athked him if I could find a temporary kithmethith to fufill that part of me, and he thaid ath long ath it wath temporary."

"Then I'll do it... If that's okay..." James turned a light shade of pink. "I'm probably not as good as Karkat but I understand that you need what you need..."

Sollux felt his cheeks turn pink. "You're actually agreeing to be my temporary kithmethith?" he looked up at him, his eyes wide. "I'm thocked. To think a human would thay that to me. It'th kinda nithe." he grinned.

"You're human too dumbass." He smirked. "Plus, I have things that I want too. So it's benefitting us both."

Sollux sighed. "Well." he quirked his eyebrows. "Thith ith going to be a little awkward, but I think it will be okay."

"Why would it be awkward?" James asked.

"Well..." he said softly. "For one, you're taller than me." he smiled. "Eridan ith taller too, but... Meh." he smirked. "Leth thee how it'll play out."

"Where should we start?" James asked.

"I don't know." he smirked, leaning against the wall. "Here ith fine." he smiled. "I'm up for anything. Ath long ath ith blackrom, I'll do anything."

"Do you want me to lead?" James asked, walking over to him as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Go for it." he smirked, looking at his chest. "Mmm..."

James pushed Sollux up against the wall, connecting their mouths. His missed the feeling of someone against him.

Sollux parted his lips, letting his tongue do some work. He panted against him, his nails raking down James' back.

James pulled back a little. "That tongue of yours is amazing..." He gasped before reclaiming Sollux's mouth. He slipped his hands under Sollux's shirt and around to pull Sollux closer as he bit down on Sollux's bottom lip.

Sollux grinned, moaning softly into the kiss, feeling James' teeth scrape against the skin. He dug his nails into James' shoulders. "Nnngh..." he lapped at the insides of Jame's mouth, biting down on his lip, tasting blood.

James pulled away, his lip bleeding as he pulled Sollux's shirt over his head.

Sollux grinned. He lifted his arms above his head before attacking James' neck, biting down, leaving a rough purple hickie.

"Ah!" James didn't see that coming but now he knew that he could really leave marks on Sollux. He pulled Sollux's hips toward him, getting rid of his pants in a few seconds. He looked down. "What the fuck?" He asked. "Why are there two?"

"I wath a conjoined twin." he said, blinking. "Ith the thame reathon I have two tongueth." he stuck his tongue out as far as he could, showing two seperate muscles.

"Oh. Okay." James said breathily before continuing to push his body against Sollux's. He ran his tongue over his lip, cleaning a little of the blood. "I think I could get used to this Kismesis thing..."

Sollux moaned feeling the wall behind him. "You can do more damage." he said, raking his nails down James' arm, hard, leaving red lines.

James nodded, biting down hard on Sollux's shoulder as his nails scratched down Sollux's thighs. "I can do damage. Now, get rid of these fucking pants for me."

Sollux fumbled with his hands. The pain and pleasure. It was a wonderful mix. He pulled them down letting them fall to his ankles.

James lifted Sollux off the ground. "Wrap your legs around me."

Sollux grinned. "Can do." he said, lifting his legs up, wrapping them around his waist.

James shifted so he could slide right into Sollux. He pushed the head of his erection against Sollux's entrance. "Bite my neck." he said before thrusting up into Sollux.

Sollux cried out. "Ah fuck I wathn't expecting thith!" he growled, biting down hard on James' shoulder. He bit hard enough to draw blood. He dug his nails in, pulling them sharply down James' back, drawing blood. "Fuck!"

James cried out. "Jesus fucking Christ. You really don't bottom a lot do you?" He thrust up again, feeling the heat from the blood run slowly down his back. This was probably some of the best sex he had ever had.

Sollux cried out, biting down in a different spot. "Fuck fuck" he gasped out. "No... I don't bottom much." he gasped out.

James dug his nails into Sollux's legs as he began to thrust harder. "Rough enough for ya?" He asked, running his tongue over Sollux's neck before biting down hard on it.

Sollux let out a deep growling noise. "Nghh..." he pushed down hard on James, feeling his erections brush against his stomach. "Ngh... I'm thtrong enough to handle more." he growled, biting down on James' neck.

"Good." James grinned, thrusting deeper into Sollux. He stopped for a moment and tightened his grip on Sollux's legs before thrusting in again. He dugs his nails into the soft flesh and after a few thrusts, he could feel hot blood running softly over his fingers.

"Nnghhh fuck." he cried out, clenching his eyes shut. It hurt. It was a reminder to him that this was truly a kismesis relationship, nothing more. The bruises and the cuts would teach him that. He moaned quietly from the pleasure of James inside him. He cringed from the pain. Together it was a strange elixir. He bit down on James' chest, above his collarbone.

James pushed Sollux further against the wall as he pushed Sollux's head closer to his own, biting down on his lip. He didn't really mean to draw blood but he knew that Sollux wouldn't mind as he licked it away. "I want you to ride me."

Sollux nodded. "Alright." he said, looking at him. "If it will stay thith rough." he said, licking the blood away from his lips.

"Not a problem with me." James smirked pulling out rather forcefully.

Sollux cried out, panting, feeling blood drip from him slightly as well as pre-release fluids. "Nnn... Fuck... You're too good at thith." he said, shaking his head.

"I've been told." James smirked. "But I do have to say that you are the only one who has told me to cause more damage. The couch okay?"

"Floor. I can clean it up eathier." he said. "Or the bathroom if you want to get real kinky." he laughed a little.

"Up to you." James said. "Hey, do you have any candles?"

Sollux blinked. "Uh... Yeah... Why?" he asked, his eyes darkening a little. "Bathroom." he said, shifting.

"Candle wax feels really good." James smirked. "Tapers are the best."

Sollux felt his skin go pale. "I uh... Uh..." he hadn't experimented with that before, and the thought of it made him a little wary. However, there were some candles in the bathroom.

James grabbed Sollux by the waist pulling him close, nipping at his neck before whispering. "I'll teach you."

Sollux whimpered, nodding a little as they went into the bathroom.

James ran his hand down Sollux's side, running his nails along it as he brought his hand back up.

Sollux shivered. "Hit me." he said. "Bruithe me." he panted quietly.

"I'm not really into hitting but bruising, that I can do." James smiled. "Now go get a candle."

Sollux pointed up at the shelf above the sink. "Thereth a few in there."

"Your bathroom is tiny..." James sighed as he grabbed a candle from the shelf. "Lighter?"

Sollux pointed to the drawer in the sink. "There." he said softly, sitting back against the wall.

He grabbed the lighter from the drawer, lighting the candle before putting the lighter back. "This is what I want you to do." He handed Sollux the candle. "The flame isn't to come close to the skin, just let the wax drip onto my chest. And if you want, I can do the same to you."

Sollux nodded and held the candle, letting the wax drip onto James' chest.

James hissed as the first few drops landed on his bare chest. One of his ex's had taught him this and he loved the way that the wax concentrates points of heat on his body.

Sollux tilted the candle, feeling the wax drip to his own fingers. It stung, but it wasn't anything like he hadn't felt before.

"It feels better on the chest." James said moving to take the candle. "Want to try?"

Sollux shifted and nodded, parting his legs so he could sit more comfortably.

James pushed Sollux's shoulders against the wall, letting the candle wax drip onto his stomach before moving up to his chest.

Every time the wax hit, Sollux winced a little. It wasn't hot enough to blister, and the pain wasn't much. He shifted. "Nn..."

James wrapped his free arm around Sollux's waist, pulling his hips up so he could thrust into him. "Better?" He asked, the wax still dripping onto his chest as he thrust.

Sollux gasped, surprised at being filled again. "A-Aagh..." he winced. His body was sore.

James started to thrust harder after blowing the candle out, letting the last bit of wax drip onto Sollux's chest. "Like it?"

Sollux shifted. "Nngh fuck!" he gasped out. "It hurts... Ngh fuck." he panted.

"Good." James moaned. "You're so tight..." He gripped Sollux's hips tightly. "I'm close..."

Sollux growled and purposfully tightened himself even further. "You'd better thtart touching me fuckath." he grumbled, shifting his hips up.

James wasn't gentle about stroking Sollux. He slowed his thrusts and moved his hand quickly around the top most one of Sollux's members. "Does Karkat take both?" James asked. He knew this probably wasn't the best time to ask but he knew how much visualization could affect someone.

"Normally." he said, gasping out, throwing his head back against the wall, making a thump. "Ow." he panted, pushing up into the pleasure.

James pulled out completely. "Turn around and lean against the sink." He grabbed Sollux by the back of his neck and guided him to where he wanted him.

"Nnnh..." Sollux turned, looking at himself in the mirror. "Oh ithtnt thith creepy." he rolled his eyes, looking at how bruised up and bleeding he was. Somehow he wanted more.

James kept his arm around Sollux's waist so he wouldn't hit his hips against the edge of the sink as he thrust into him. "I think you look hot." James nipped Sollux's shoulder. "How is Karkat going to react to seeing you like this?"

"He'll know that I had a kithmethith." he said, pushing back against him. "Nnnh..." He shifted his hips slightly, making a rocking motion.

James started thrusting hard into him again. He ran his nails down Sollux's chest, taking some of the wax with his nails before he started to stroke him again. He liked not being gentle.

Sollux clenched his eyes shut tightly. He couldn't look at himself like this. He groaned, feeling overwhelmed. "Nnnghhaaahh." he cried out, feeling so close but so far away from his release.

"Open your eyes." James thrust hard into him as he bit down on his shoulder.

"I can't." he said through gritted teeth. "I can't look at mythelf like thi-Aah!" he reacted to the pain in his shoulder, gripping the sink edge tighter.

"You will. Or I'll leave you like this." James growled. He was glad that he had practice at holding off his release. Fucking BDSM... He pulled back so that his chest wasn't against Sollux's back. He grinned as he ran his nails down Sollux's back, digging them in the further down he went.

Sollux opened his eyes, staring at himself in the mirror. He made a pained face, cringing. "Nn-Nghh..."

James moved his hand faster before running his tongue up the side of Sollux's face. "I like this look on you Sollux. It's really sexy."

Sollux narrowed his eyes. "Don't flatter me." he spat, moving his hips with James' hand. "I'd rather see your hate on my body in the form of brutheth and cutth." he grinned a sly smirk.

"Like cuts from a knife? Kinky." James smirked.

Sollux cringed. "Your nailth are ragged enough." he said. "Kniveth cauth almotht too much damage, but I won't... Can't... Thay no."

"If I wanted to use a knife on you then I would have to pull out and I'm not okay with that." James stated. "I know how bad knives hurt. There are scars on my back."

"I have thcarth too." he said, grunting. "Nngh..."

"From Karkat?" James asked, pulling almost all the way out before pushing all the way back in.

"No-Aaaaa..." he bit his lip. "Before I knew KK."

"Really? I thought he was your first..." James said. He reached around, running his nails down Sollux's chest again as his hand moved slowly.

"It wathtnt from that." he said, shifting. "I'm in clothe tieth with my ancethtor. He had thcarth, and I inherited them."

"That makes no sense but whatever." James shrugged. "Shift back a little further and arch your back a little more." He said, gently pushing Sollux down a little.

Sollux did as he was told. He shifted his hips downward, arching his back.

James shifted to account for the movement. He was now plunging deeper into Sollux than he had been earlier, aiming for his sweet spot.

Sollux cried out, using his hands to muffle his screams. Oh god it felt good. He leaned forward slightly further, gasping into his hands.

James guessed, by the way that Sollux was reacting, that he had found his target. Being careful not to shift, he slammed harder into Sollux as his release started to creep up on him.

Sollux saw stars. He cringed and cried out, biting down hard on his fingers. He felt blood pour over his lips. He moaned with every new thrust. "F-Fuck..." he gasped out, feeling his release just moments away.

James started to pump Sollux faster as his release came closer and closer. His objective now was to get Sollux off before he went over the edge. "Oh god..."

Sollux gasped, feeling his whole body twitching. He cried out, his hands reaching back for the sink again, trying to stablize himself as he spilled onto the floor, his body clenching tight around James, his head spinning.

James couldn't hold it after that. He released into Sollux, thrusting slowly as he rode out his orgasm.

Sollux panted, resting his head against the sink. His whole form shuddered and shook. He looked a mess. Blood was dried in ribbons across his spine. His inner thighs were caked with dried blood and fresh release. His hands, which were bruised and tattered with splotches of raised skin, gripped the sink tightly as he rode out his orgasm.

James felt the knot release in his stomach and the tingling start to fade as he pulled out of Sollux. "God.. That was awesome..." He pulled Sollux closer to him. "How do you feel?"

Sollux shivered. "Ow..." he breathed, his hands shaking. "Ow..." he slowly opened his eyes, to see nothing but stars. He shut them again.

"You okay?" James asked rubbing his hand up and down Sollux's back. "Was I that rough? Sorry..."

"I'll be fine." he said, his voice soft and breathy. "I'll be okay... I jutht... Need to lay down... Or... Or eat thomething." he stumbled over words.

James picked Sollux up and carried him into the living room. "Stay here, I'll grab something for you to eat."

Sollux curled up on the couch. He pulled the blanket over him to cover his shame of a bruised battered body. "Jameth I'll be fine..." he said, trying to sit up. The pain in his body was too much. He laid back down. "I think I bit off more than I could chew..."

"Let me take care of you. This is partially my fault." He said pulling his jeans back on before heading into the kitchen. He searched around for a couple minutes before deciding that cookies would be sugary enough for Sollux to eat. "Eat these."

Sollux gently took them and stuck them in his mouth, chewing gently.

James sat at the end of the couch. "Just rest a little more before you get up to do anything. If it's okay with you, I'm going to go back to my apartment and take a shower to clean the scratches on my back." He patted Sollux's leg gently.

"Alright." he said. "I'll be fine... I've got a firtht aide kit for thith reathon." he grumbled softly, laying back on the couch.

James stood kissing Sollux's forehead gently. "I'm glad you had fun." He whispered before grabbing his shirt and keys and leaving for his apartment.

Sollux watched him leave. He panted quietly, forcing himself to get up and go into the bathroom. He knew he had done quite the damage to himself. He could barely walk. He sat down in the shower, washing off the blood and semen. He got out, dried off and started wrapping. His hands and fingers were covered in bandages as well as his stomach and thighs. He'd worry about his back later. He walked over, checking to see if Karkat was online.

Karkat sat as his computer, waiting for Sollux to come online. He was worried for Sollux hadn't answered any of the texts he had sent him. "What's going on?.." He whispered to himself.

Sollux weakly turned on the web cam, sitting back in the chair, covering himself with the blanket.

"Sollux? What happened? You look like you got into a bar fight or something!" Karkat said worried about how many wounds he can see on Sollux's body. "Or was it your kismesis? They were really rough with you..."

"I hurt really bad, KK..." he felt tears come to his eyes as he held up his hand, showing the bruising around his fingers. "I'm thorry." he closed his eyes. "I... I..." he felt a sob break over him. "KK I love you tho much." he cringed at his movement. "I thouldn't have done it... But… But thith ith what I... Detherved I gueth."

"Sollux, take the blanket off and turn around." Karkat said.

Sollux shook his head. "KK... I… I don't want you to thee..." he whispered, using his hands to cover his face.

"You promised you would show me." Karkat said. "Sollux, I would end up seeing it if we were on Alternia so there is no reason for you to not show me now."

Sollux dropped the blanket, turning around in the chair, showing his back, covered in trails of lines dried with blood.

"Oh gog... They were really rough with you... My poor baby..." Karkat didn't like seeing Sollux in pain, that's why he was as gentle as he could be with still being rough. "Did James do that to you?" He asked. He was pretty sure it was James because he knew that Sollux didn't want anything to do with Eridan and Vriska was out entirely.

"Y-Yeah..." he said softly, closing his eyes as he turned back around. "Y-Yeah..."

"Damn..." he whispered. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah... I will be." he looked at Karkat with sad eyes. "I'll be fine. I'll take it eathy thethe nektht few dayth." he wet his swollen lips.

"Oh baby... I'm sorry..." He whispered. "I wish I was home..."

"You're thtudying in Parith." he smiled. "I don't think you need to be home. I'm thure you're having a wonderful time, right?" he couldn't help but smile at least a little bit. "Baby, I'll be fine."

Karkat nodded a little. "I love you and I'm just worried about you... I don't like seeing you like this..."

"KK, I promithe I'll be okay." he said, smiling.

"I know but you look so... Broken... It worries me..." He pulled his knees to his chest. "I was excited about getting to talk to you because Chris is staying with his girlfriend tonight. I wanted to talk about Christmas break..."

"Okay." Sollux smiled. "What about it?" he wrapped the blanket back over his shoulders.

"I was kinda hoping to persuade you to come to Paris for Christmas... Some of the locals showed me pictures from last year and it's beautiful... I wanted you to come see it with me..."

"O-Oh wow..." he felt his cheeks turn pink. "That... Would be amathing." he blushed. "But... I don't thpeak french." he frowned.

"I don't either but Chris does and his girlfriend is a native." He smiled. "I thought a double date would be fun..." He blushed looking down at his knees.

Sollux smiled. "I gueth I thould get my pathport then." he smiled. "Though... I might wait a few dayth." he frowned.

"You have time... It's only October, love." Karkat smiled. "They agreed already... To a double date... If you decided to come to Paris..."

"I'd like to." he smiled. "I think that'd be fun."

"Really?" Karkat perked up. "I can't wait!"

Sollux grinned. "Yeah." they talked about things they would do in Paris, which made Sollux excited. He wanted to see Karkat so bad.

"There is this cute little cafe down the street from my dorm that has the most delicious crepes! They even have a honey flavor!" Karkat smiled.

"Ooooh that thoundth promithing." he grinned. "I want to go."

"I miss you..." Karkat said softly. "Did you get what I sent you?"

"Yeth I did. They were delithiouth." he grinned. "I'm tho happy you thent thothe to me."

"I'm glad you liked them! I worked hard to get that recipe right..." He smiled, pulling the hoodie further around him. "By the way, I've already cleared it with Chris and the head of the dorm that you stay here while you're in Paris."

Sollux grinned. "Awethome." he leaned a little closer to the webcam. "Ith it cold there?"

"A little. I would recommend bringing a nice thick coat when you come." He said. "It'll be better when you get here and we can cuddle all night!"

Sollux grinned. "I like that." he smirked. "Gog I can't wait. I want to go there now, but I can't." he squirmed a little in his seat, sending pain through his back. "T-Thit... Thouldn't have done that."

"Sollux?..." Karkat looked up at the screen, worry covering his face. "You okay? Sorry... I kinda forgot that you were hurt..." He looked back down at the keyboard.

"Ith fine." he smiled. "I'll take thome medth and go to bed here thoon." he touched the computer screen. "Man... I with you were here right now."

Karkat smiled softly. "I wish I was there too. I miss you so much, love."

"Yeah." They talked on and on for a while before Sollux couldn't take the pain anymore. "I'll tektht you in the morning okay?"

"Okay. I love you." Karkat smiled.

Sollux smiled. "Love you too, KK." he waved goodbye and turned off the camera, going to slowly make his way to the kitchen. He downed a few pain killers before heading back to the bedroom, curling up on his side as he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning Gamzee woke up to a message from Karkat, asking him to check on Sollux. He curled up closer to Tavros for a moment before whispering in his ear. "Hey Tav, Kar wants me to go check on Sol. I'll be back in a minute okay?"<p>

Tavros nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Okay... Is everything uh...okay?" he asked, looking at him with big brown eyes.

"He said something about Sollux having a kismesis. I don't know why he would want anyone besides Kar but it's whatever." Gamzee said softly before kissing Tavros' cheek. "I'll be right back." He stood, grabbing a pair of pajama bottoms from the floor before grabbing a set of keys and walking up the stairs. "Sollux, its Gamzee! Open up!" He knocked on the door.

The door was unlocked. Sollux was passed out cold in the bedroom, his half naked form trembling, his face flushed.

Gamzee opened the door and made his way back to the bedroom. "Sol... You okay?" He shook him gently. "Kar's worried about you."

Sollux quivered, his eyes barely opening. "Gam?" he asked, his voice weak. "I'm tho cold..." his body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

"Fuck man. What the hell happened?" He pulled the blanket up around Sollux. "I'll be back. I have to go tell Tav that it'll be more than a few minutes." Gamzee said before turning to run back down to his apartment. "Tav, Sol is sick and majorly bruised up. I might be up there for the rest of the day. I'm sorry..." He said softly. "But he needs someone to take care of him right now..."

Tavros frowned. "That's fine. I hope he's okay…." He looked worried.

Sollux quivered and laid still, curling up in the blanket. He sniffled, tears streaming down his cheeks. He couldn't move.

Gamzee ran back up the apartment. He went back into the bedroom. "Sol, I need you to tell me what you're feeling. That's the only way I can know what to do." He rubbed Sollux's arm. "At least tell me what the fuck happened to ya."

"I bit off more than I could chew." He whispered, curling up into a ball, whimpering softly. "I hurt…. Everything hurtth." He shivered. "I think I'm running a fever."

"What happened man? You look like you were raped by my ancestor or something…" Gamzee said. "I'll go get you some pain killers and a snack."

"Too rough." He whispered, shivering. He shifted up the bed a little. "I think I bled too much." "So that's what Kar meant by kismesis…" Gamzee sighed. "Wow man… Whoever did this was brutal. I'll be back." Gamzee got off the bed and went into the kitchen to search for painkillers and a little something for Sollux to eat. "I wonder who it was that did that…"

Sollux felt a shiver run down his spine. He quivered, wincing in pain. He rolled onto his back, sitting up. "Nn…. Thith ith all my fault." He whispered softly. "I thouldn't have…."

Gamzee finally found what he was looking for. He made his way back into the bedroom. "I found these cookies and some ibuprofen. That should help to dull the pain a little. Kar said that you're back was bad so, I'm going to clean that. Where is your first aid kit?"

"Clothet. Bathroom." He said, rubbing his eyes as he ate quietly. "I don't have any food in the houth." He said, watching Gamzee walk to the bathroom.

Gamzee shook his head. "I don't understand… Kismesises aren't important for survival. Plus you have Kar! Fucking idiot." Gamzee murmured to himself as he looked for the kit. After a few minutes, he finally found it and took it back to the bedroom. "So, did you enjoy having a kismesis?" Gamzee asked, his voice full of sarcasm. He knew that Sollux was aware of how this affected Karkat and Gamzee was not okay with his bro being hurt like that.

Sollux shifted. "No." he said honestly, "I didn't." he frowned, pulling the blanket down as he sat up. "I detherve all of thith." He said, glaring at Gamzee, his eyes narrow.

"Well, at least you understand that." Gamzee sighed. "This is going to sting like hell." He warned before rubbing the peroxide soaked cloth over the raw skin of Sollux's back.

Sollux hissed in pain, biting down on his lip. "Thank you for not uthing alcohol." He said. He clenched his fist, leaning forward, trying to get away from the pain.

"Welcome. It cleans it better but it also gets rid of the good bacteria. Peroxide kills infection." Gamzee said. "I used to help the nurses clean Tav's legs when we were all in the hospital." He gently brought the cloth down his back again. "I'm going to dab some Neosporin on these cuts before I wrap you up. Okay?"

"Thath fine." He said, shifting a little on the bed. "Thankth Gamthee." He said quietly, looking down at his hands.

Gamzee nodded and started to work on putting the medicine in the wounds. Gently, he wrapped Sollux's chest with the ace bandage. "Call me later and I'll come up and fix you something but until then, you are to stay in bed and rest."

Sollux frowned. "I might move to the couch." He said softly, rubbing his arms. "Thankth again."

"That's fine." Gamzee said. "Just don't move around a lot or it will open them again." He waved before heading back to his apartment. Sighing, he made his way over to the couch. Gamzee sat down and wrapped his arms around Tavros. "He is really injured. Kar wasn't kidding when he said kismesis… His body is just covered in bruises." He shook his head. "I don't understand why he thought he needed a kismesis when he's with Kar. I just don't see why it'd be important."

"He still thinks like he did back on Alternia. He must miss it." He said softly, frowning. "I mean, I never thought in quadrants really." He smiled. "Just being with you is fine." He said, grinning a little. "But I mean…. Eridan still thinks like that, so does Vriska as far as I'm aware." He said quietly, "I'm sure there's others." He whispered. "Its still apart of all of us. I just… Don't want to be like that anymore. I want to change."

"We're human now and quadrants don't matter to anyone… But even back on Alternia, I only wanted two of my quadrants to be filled. You and Kar were the only ones that I wanted in any part of my quadrants." Gamzee snuggled close to Tavros. "That's because I love you and he's my bro."

"Yeah." He smiled, "I only wanted one of mine filled." He shifted. "You." He smirked and leaned back against the pillow.

"I love you Tav." He smiled. "Plus, we could fill enough pails for both red and black rom." Gamzee kissed Tavros' cheek gently.

Tavros turned a deep shade of red. "Y-Yeah! Uh…" he blushed and looked away, his eyes shutting gently.

"I'm just saying that it wouldn't matter to me how I had you, as long as I have you." Gamzee said softly. "Besides, I love you too much to be kismesis rough with you."  
>"Oh Gamzee." He felt his cheeks flush pink. "That makes me so happy." He grinned.<p>

"You're so fucking adorable!" He snuggled Tavros more. "So cute and sweet. All mine." He grinned widely.

He smiled and leaned back, shifting his legs a little, leaning back against him, laying his head on his shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you more." Gamzee whispered. "I like days that we both don't have school. Gives me a reason to cuddle with you all day!"

"Same." He grinned a little bit, smirking as he turned around slightly, kissing Gamzee's face.

Gamzee smiled into the kiss. "Yay!" He grinned. "Best drug ever." He kissed Tavros' forehead.

"Yup." He smiled, wrapping his arms tightly around him, hoisting himself close to Gamzee. It was almost nice not having legs. He was able to get close to Gamzee without them being in the way.

Gamzee nuzzled his face into his hair, taking a deep breath. "You kinda smell like chocolate…" He laughed.

"Oh gog not that again." He shook his head. "I don't have chocolate for blood." He smiled, shifting a little, kissing Gamzee's face.

"I wasn't talking about blood. Plus, if you did have chocolate for blood then I would be forced to eat you." Gamzee growled playfully, kissing Tavros' cheek. "Who knows, maybe I've been switching your shampoo for chocolate syrup!" He laughed. "It wouldn't do much to your sweetness though."

"Gamzee that would make my hair all sticky." he laughed and leaned against him, kissing his cheek.

"You know I'm just teasing." Gamzee smiled. "But you are sweet. That's why you make the perfect drug!" He kissed him gently. "My Tav. All mine!"

Tavros smiled. "Mmm Gamzee I love you." he said quietly, nuzzling his cheek with his hair.

"Ah!" Gamzee pulled away. "That tickles Tav!" He laughed. "Don't turn into a tickle monster!"

"I won't, I won't." he laughed, leaning back a little bit.

Gamzee smiled, curling up around Tavros. "I love you, my miracle."

"I love you too." he smiled sweetly and leaned against him, wrapping his arms around Gamzee tightly.

"Want to take a nap?" Gamzee asked. "It's our lazy day so we don't have to worry about going anywhere."

"Yeah." he smiled, grinning. "I'd like that." he said softly.

Gamzee scooted down the couch a little, pulling Tavros closer to him. "Is this okay or do you want to go to the room?"

"Nah this is fine." he smiled sweetly, curling up with him, trying to find a good spot to put his legs.

"Not having horns makes napping together so much easier." Gamzee said quietly. "Are you comfy Tav?"

"Yeah." he smiled. "I like it." he grinned, snuggling close to him, gently running his hand through Gamzee's hair.

Gamzee leaned up, kissing Tavros gently before wrapping his arms around his waist. "I'm glad."

"Mmm Gamzee." he smirked a little, resting against him. "Mmm~" he hummed, grinning even wider, feeling happy and warm.

Gamzee fell asleep quickly, waking a couple hours later. He could feel that Tavros was still laying on him as he shifted gently into a more comfortable position. "Tav..." He whispered.

Tavros whimpered quietly, shifting as he curled up on Gamzee's chest.

"Tav-love." Gamzee smiled. He liked combining Tavros' name with cute words like love and sweetheart.

"Nnn?" he hummed quietly, smiling as he started waking. "Nnnn..."

"Morning sleepy. How did you sleep?" Gamzee asked quietly, running his hand through Tavros' hair.

"Nnn... I was so warm." He smiled, "Thank you." he shifted a little, attempting to straddle Gamzee's hips.

Gamzee put his legs together, trying to help Tavros with whatever he was trying to accomplish. "Welcome." He smiled up at Tavros. "You are the best cuddle buddy in the world."

Tavros smiled and put his hands on Gamzee's chest, either of his legs resting on the sides of Gamzee's hips. "Hee."

"Is this supposed to be a hint or something because I'm confused..." Gamzee said softly. "You have the goofiest grin on your face Tav..."

"I'm just getting comfortable." he smiled. "But..." he blushed. "Since you have a way of taking things... Differently." he smiled.

"I was thinking you wanted me to carry you to the room so we could cuddle there..." Gamzee said trying to look innocent. "Honest to gog."

Tavros smiled, grinning. "Well... I-i mean what if... I have a naughty mind?" he said softly.

"A naughty mind? I didn't know that my sweet Tavros could have a naughty mind." Gamzee smiled at him.

"I... I can." he said softly, looking at him, his cheeks flushed dark.

"And what is this naughty mind of yours picturing?" Gamzee asked, tilting his head to the side.


	27. Chapter 27

He blushed. "Y-You know... T-things."

"Things don't describe much, Tav." He grinned wickedly. "What type of things?"

He blushed "B-But..." he loked down. "I... I don't think I could say it..." he blushed vibrant red.

"Well that doesn't help me any! How am I supposed to know what my love wants if he won't tell me?" Gamzee asked dramatically. "How am I supposed to know how to please him?" He emphasized the word please.

"You know... H-how to please me." he whispered, his voice soft. "A-anything you do is wonderful."

"How are you so cute?" Gamzee grabbed Tavros' hands. "I just want to eat you up." He grinned, sitting up enough so he could nibble on his neck.

Tavros whimpered softly, tilting his neck to let Gamzee get a better reach. "Nnnn... G-Gamzee."

Gamzee pulled back a little. "Yummy." He grinned as he felt himself grow hard. "That still doesn't answer my question though. What does my Tav want me to do to him?"

"G-guh..." he breathed softly, blushing darkly. "I... I..." he blushed softly as he mumbled something under his breath, shifting his hips a little.

Gamzee felt a shiver run up his spine when Tavros shifted. "Yes?" He grinned as he returned to his nibbling.

He shifted his hips again. "I'm too embarrased to say it." he whispered. "I... I'm so shy..." he blinked slightly, whimpering.

"It's just us, Tav. Just you and your Gamzee." He smiled softly. "You know you can tell me anything."

"I-I know." he blushed. "I... I ... I want you, Gamzee." he whispered, his cheeks pink.

"To do what?" Gamzee asked. He liked teasing Tavros because it was so cute how he blushed!

"I... I..." he blushed, squirming a little, rubbing his hips against Gamzee's "This."

"I thought you said you had a dirty mind..." Gamzee sighed as he tilted his hips up so the pair rubbed a little harder.

Tavros blushed, gasping softly, moving his hips down as best as he could. "G-Gamzee..." he breathed quietly, biting his lip.

"Anything else?" Gamzee asked. He would get Tavros to admit that he wanted him inside of him.

"M-More..." he whispered softly, shifting. "G-Gamzee... Please I... I..." he blushed darkly, leaning down as he pushed his lips against Gamzee's.

Gamzee pushed his hips up against Tavros' as his tongue lapped against the other's lips.

Tavros shifted, moving his legs slightly, trying to get a good grip on Gamzee's hips. "Gamzee..." he breathed softly, his lips parting, "I... I want you... Like that." he breathed softly, his hands gently moved up Gamzee's shirt.

"Really?" Gamzee smirked. "Do you also want my shirt off?"

Tavros nodded, his hands shaking slightly, gently tugging at it. "Y-Yeah." he said quietly.

Gamzee nodded, pulling his shirt over his head. "Now what do you want me to do?"

Tavros sat up a little bit. "A-Am I-I in charge?" he asked, blushing. He tugged at the hem of his shirt.

"Just tell me what you want me to do and I will do it." Gamzee smiled. "You are controlling what I do."

Tavros blushed. "u-Uhh... Uh..." he bit his lip. "T-take my shirt off?" he blushed. "I... I..." he felt flustered and warm. What to do? What to do?

Gamzee slipped his fingers under his shirt, working it up slowly. "Raise your arms." Gamzee said softly pulling it the rest of the way off of Tavros. "Next."

Tavros shivered slightly, looking at him. "I-I-I don't know Gamzee," he whispered, shifting his hips. "I-I don't uh... Feel confident to m-make these kind of decisions." he blushed bright red, his eyes wide.

Gamzee leaned up, kissing him gently. "You can Tav. Just trust your body."

"I-I..." he bit his lip and felt a shiver run through him. "T-Touch me?" he whispered, his voice unsure.

"Here?" Gamzee asked rubbing his hands up his chest. "Is this what you want?"

"Lower." he whispered, his eyes fluttering closed.

Gamzee moved his hands a little lower. "Here?"

Tavros blushed and scowled at Gamzee a little. "Y-You know what I mean!" he pouted.

"Fine." Gamzee smirked as he slipped his fingers into Tavros' pants, pulling him out gently. He looked up at Tavros as he stroked him gently. "Here?" He grinned.

"y-Yeah..." he breathed softly, his hands gently forming fists on Gamzee's chest.

Gamzee smiled as he stroked Tavros. "Does this feel good? Do you want me to do this faster?"

Tavros nodded a little. "Y-Yeah..." he said quietly, his cheeks pink.

Gamzee did as he was told and started to stroke him faster while staying gentle. With his free hand, he pulled Tavros into a soft kiss. "I love you."

Tavros moaned quietly, whimpering. "G-Gah..." he shifted forward, pushing his rear down against Gamzee's groin.

"Uhn. Tav." Gamzee moaned softly, moving his hand faster as he connected their mouths in a deep kiss.

Tavros shifted, moaning quietly, "Nnn..." he panted, his mouth opening gently. "Nnngh..."

Gamzee pushed his hips up as he pulled away from Tavros' mouth. "Do you want anything else?"

"You." he whispered. He shivered, thrusting his hips against Gamzee's hand.

"Which part of me?" He asked breathlessly.

He blushed. "Y-You really want me to answer that?" he asked, shifting his hips.

"Yes." Gamzee smiled. "I really do."

Tavros blushed. "Yo-You..." he shivered, leaning close to him. "You... Gamzee I can't." he blushed, closing his eyes and shaking his head a little. "It's so embarrasing."

"Then show me. You know you can touch me too, right Tav?" Gamzee said, grinning widely. He couldn't help but grin at how cute Tavros was being.

Tavros scooted back, leaning down a bit, using his hands to undo Gamzee's pants, gently taking him out, stroking him hard.

Gamzee moaned and let himself fall back onto the couch. "Gog… Tav."

Tavros smiled, working his hands over him, his fingers gently smoothing over the flesh.

Gamzee moaned loudly, thrusting his hips into Tavros' hand. He wrapped his arms around his lover's waist, pulling him closer before kissing him gently.

Tavros smiled, stroking him harder. "Gamzee." he whispered between kisses. "I... I want..." he blushed dark.

Gamzee nodded, deciding to give up on making Tavros say what he wanted. He brought his arms around Tavros' shoulders, letting his fingers play with his love's mohawk. "I love you Tav."

"I love you too." he said quietly, smiling. He wiggled a little, his hands still playing with Gamzee's intimate parts.

Gamzee moaned. "Faster?" He asked softly. He shifted so Tavros had better access to his body.

Tavros nodded, moving his hand faster, watching Gamzee's face carefully.

Gamzee pulled him close again, kissing at his neck and chest. He was glad that he was a flexible as he was or else he wouldn't be able to do half the shit he could. He smirked up at Tavros before running his tongue over the sensitive flesh of his nipple.

Tavros gasped quietly, looking at him with big round eyes. "G-Gamzee..." he breathed.

"Please don't stop..." Gamzee said before brushing the pink flesh with his tongue again. "Please..."

"I-I won't." he breathed, continuing to move his hand.

Gamzee hummed against Tavros' skin, as he worked his tongue. He shifted a little to make himself a little more comfortable. He pulled away for a moment, "Anything else you want Tav?" He couldn't keep himself from teasing Tavros a little more.

Tavros blushed. "g-Gamzee..." he looked down. "Y-You're so mean." he blushed and kissed Gamzee lightly, his hand pausing.

"I'm being serious." Gamzee said softly. "I want to know what you like and what drives you crazy, in the good way."

"G-Gamzee I want you... I want you to... To..." he shook his head, shivering. "Y-You know..."

Gamzee kissed him gently. "Do you want me inside?" he asked softly, kissing him again. "All you have to do is say yes or no."

"Y-Yes." he said quietly. "B-But be gentle." he turned bright red.

Gamzee nodded. "I only want to be gentle with you." He smiled nuzzling Tavros' neck. "I've told you that before."

"I know.'' he turned pink. "I just... Like reminding you."

"I would never hurt you Tav... And I'm sorry that I did..." Gamzee kissed his neck gently.

Tavros smiled. "Its fine." he said, touching his hair. "It's fine."

Gamzee nodded. "Shall we continue?" He nibbled on his neck a little as his hands wandered down his chest before gently stroking his love.

Tavros nodded, his mouth opening slightly. "Nnn..."

Gamzee continued to move his hand over Tavros, before slipping it over his hip to rest on his lower back. "You want me here?" He gently squeezed Tavros' ass, his grin getting wider.

Tavros blushed dark. "y-Yes..." he whimpered, shifting slightly on Gamzee's chest.

Gamzee nodded. "Everything we need is in the bedroom..." He sighed. "Should we move there?"

Tavros nodded gently.

Gamzee shifted, wrapping his arms around Tavros before standing. He slipped one arm under his legs, supporting most of his body weight with just the one arm. "You are amazing, I hope you realize this." He kissed and nibbled at his neck as they entered their bedroom.

Tavros smiled. "Amazing?" he blushed. "I don't think I'm amazing." he replied, frowning.

"I think you're amazing." Gamzee said softly. "Amazing at everything!" He smiled, setting Tavros on the bed gently. "I think everything about you is amazing."

Tavros blushed. "Aww thanks for thinking that Gamzee." he replied, gently twitching slightly.

Gamzee shifted, opening the drawer and pulling out the small bottle of lube. He smiled softly at Tavros as he crawled over him. "Like this or how we were on the couch? It's up to you."

"It doesn't matter." he smiled. "I'm fine with anything."

"Tav... Tell me what you want." Gamzee said. "I know you do but I want you to really enjoy this."

"I'll enjoy it anyway we decide to do it." he said softly, grinning. "So it really doesn't matter." he grinned widely.

Gamzee shook his head. "I love you." He kissed him gently, coating his fingers in the cold, clear liquid. "Ready?"

Tavros smiled. "Of course."

Gamzee gently rubbed his finger against Tavros' entrance before slipping a finger inside. It was a bit easier than last time to get his entire finger inside. He smirked, pulling Tavros into a kiss before moving his finger slowly.

Tavros moaned quietly against Gamzee's lips. He pushed down against the finger, whimpering occasionally.

Gamzee slipped his finger almost completely out, adding a finger and moving them faster. He ran his other hand up Tavros' side.

Tavros whimpered. "G-Gamzee..." he panted, looking at him with wide eyes. "Nngh..."

"Yes Tav?" He smiled softly at him. He was thinking it would be nice to have Tavros straddling him like he was when they were on the couch but that could wait until he was done preparing him.

"It feels good..." he whispered. "F-faster..."

"I told you that you could tell me what you wanted." Gamzee smirked as he followed the orders he had been given.

Tavros whimpered and reached up to hold onto Gamzee's shoulders, moaning softly.

Gamzee leaned down, nipping Tavros' neck as he added a third finger. "Tav... Touch me..." He meant it to sound like a request but it came out as a moan as he gently stroked himself with his free hand.

Tavros smiled, reaching up, moving Gamzee's hand out of the way as he let his fingers brush against the hot flesh. "g-Gamzee." he whispered, his cheeks pink.

Gamzee moved his fingers a little faster as he moaned at the thin fingers of his love. "Tav..." he moaned softly. "Can I do it now?"

Tavros nodded. "Y-Yeah." he said, looking up at him. "You can."

"I want to try something a little different. Okay?" He asked softly before removing his fingers slowly.

Tavros blinked. "O-Okay... What is it?" he smiled a little, shifting. "Hurry though." he blushed dark. He needed this.

"Remember how we were on the couch? I want to try that..." Gamzee answered. "Is that cool with you?" He wanted to give Tavros the choice because it was his body that would be exposed...

Tavros nodded. "T-Thats fine, but you're going to have to help me stay up. I can't support myself." he smiled, his hand flittering down his stomach.

"I was planning on that." Gamzee shifted, lifting Tavros off the bed as he switched there positions while kicking his pants off. He sat on the bed, setting Tavros on his lap as he leaned back a little. "Can you... Guide it?" Gamzee asked, a pale pink on his cheeks. 'Now that's an embarassing question...'

Tavros blinked and nodded, gently guiding Gamzee's length. He slowly pushed down on it, gasping out. It went in much deeper than he expected, making him cry out as he slid down, his hips touching Gamzee's.

"Gog... That's fucking miraculous..." Gamzee whispered, tilting his head back a little as he held Tavros' hips.

Tavros shivered, leaning forward a little, resting his hands on Gamzee's chest, his hips starting to move over Gamzee's erection. "A-Aah Gog "

Gamzee's head fell forward, leaning against his chest. "Tav..." He moaned. He couldn't believe how different but amazing this felt. 'We should do this more often...' he thought to himself.

Tavros rode him slowly at first, having a small problem with keeping his balance. He shifted his hips, slamming down on Gamzee on accident, causing him to cry out in pleasure, his nails gently raking Gamzee's chest.

"Do that again..." Gamzee whimpered. "Please." He moved his hands up a little on Tavros' body, to keep him a little more stable.

Tavros nodded, shifting his hips up before slamming back down, crying out. "A-Aah "

"Aaahn!" Gamzee cried out. He tried to keep his hands from tightening around his waist as his toes curled and he started to shake a little from the pleasure. "Gog... Tav..."

Tavros whimpered, his arms shaking from the strain. "G-Gamzee..." he panted, shifting his hips over and over again.

"You okay?" Gamzee asked, feeling his arms shake against his chest. "We can switch if you want... Ngh."

Tavros nodded. "Nn-nnn... Y-yeah that might be for the uh, best." he said quietly, looking down at him.

Gamzee brought his arms up to his shoulders. "This might hurt a little..." He said as he laid back, bringing Tavros down with him before rolling so that Tavros was on the bed. He shifted, pulling his arms out from under him as he grabbed a pillow from his pile and slid it under Tavros' hips. "Better?"

Tavros winced slightly but nodded. "Yes." he said, smiling as he shifted on the pillow a little. "Much." he said, grinning as he felt Gamzee slide deeper into him as he shifted. "A-Aaahh..."

"Good." Gamzee said before bringing his hips back. He kissed Tavros gently as he brought his hips forward again, repeating the motion several times before moving faster.

Tavros reached up, holding onto Gamzee's arms. His arms weren't long enough to reach Gamzee's shoulders. He moaned and threw his head back against the mattress, shuddering as sweat dripped from his brow. This was amazing.

Gamzee ran his tongue along Tavros' neck, not caring about the sweat that covered his lover's body. He didn't really notice that he was sweating until he tilted his head back a little and felt wet hair touching his shoulders and Tavros' hands slip downhis arms a little.

Tavros cried out, tightening around him. "G-Gamzee I'm c-close." he breathed. "Touch me?"

Gamzee shifted so that most of his weight was on his legs instead of his arms as one of his hands moved down to do what Tavros had asked of him. He thrust his hips a little harder, careful to not be too hard.

Tavros cried out, feeling his stomach tighten as he released onto their stomachs, his body tightening around Gamzee as he rode out his orgasm.

"Oh gog..." Gamzee moaned as he felt Tavros tighten around him. "Can I... Harder?" He whimpered feeling himself close to release.

Tavros nodded, his eyes clamped tightly shut, his body twitching from the recent release. "n-Nnngh..."

Gamzee brought his hips hard against Tavros' but not hard enough to be considered rough. He watched his lover's face carefully, not wanting him to feel a lot of pain. Gamzee knew that there had to be some pain but as long as it wasn't too bad for Tav, he could deal.

Tavros cried out in pleasure, gripping the sheets around him. His body quivered with every thrust.

Gamzee's stomach tightened more and more before release finally came. His pace slowed down a lot as he rode out the rest of his orgasm, kissing over Tavros' face and neck as he thrust. "I love you Tav." He whispered into his love's ear. "So much."

Tavros wrapped his arms tightly around Gamzee, breathing softly as he panted. "Nn... Nnnn..." he hummed, his breath coming softly.

Once his body wasn't as sensitive, Gamzee pulled out gently, curling up with Tavros as he whispered sweet nothings into his love's ear. He knew that he would never, ever need anything but Tavros in his life. Well, besides food and the other things that kept him alive.

Tavros curled up to him, his body still twitching slightly as he wrapped himself in Gamzee's long arms.

* * *

><p>Sollux sneezed painfully, sending his glasses flying across the room. "Fuck..." he grumbled, using his powers to pick them up. His face looked pale with yellow concentrated spots. His cheeks were slightly flushed yellow, his ears, his neck, his nose and right under his lip. He held his glasses in his hand as he sneezed again, shooting a nearly harmful optic blast across the room, it hitting the wall, leaving a small mark. He rubbed his eyes, feeling the spark of his powers on the outsides of his eyes. "Nnngh fuck..." he grumbled, shivering, pulling the blanket over his head.<p>

James walked over to Sollux's apartment. He took a deep breath before knocking. "Hey... It's me... Can I come in?"

Sollux looked over at the door, managing another massive sneeze, this one hitting the door, knocking the deadbolt open. "Nnngh..."

James took that as a yes as he opened the door. "Hey... You okay? You look nasueas..." He looked at Sollux, his face slightly yellow. "Was I really that rough? Sorry man..."

Sollux sniffed, grabbing the tissue from the table. "Eh?" he blinked, blowing his nose.

"How did things go with Karkat after I left? Is everything okay?" James asked, walking over to the couch.

"Yeah." he said, his powers sparking, smacking his ear. He winced slightly.

"Why did you just hit yourself? And why is there red and blue smoke coming from your eyes?" James asked. "Are you okay?"

Sollux looked at him. "Ith not thmoke." he said softly, rubbing his eyes. "Ith... Thomething elthe and it a-a-.." he sneezed again, his eyes flashing as he closed them quickly. "ch-" he shook his head a little, the blanket falling down from around his head, showing his yellowed ears.

"Okay... Can you explain what the hell is going on?" James asked. "I mean, that is some fucked up shit man.."

"I'm thick." he said, whimpering, rubbing his nose. "I gueth my powerth are mething up."

"Powers? Your freaky voodoo shit?" James asked rubbing the back of his neck. "What do they have anything to do with you being sick?"

"I don't know." he said softly, sniffling. He turned to face him, his eyes flaring. "I wath born with thethe powerth."

"That's what you used on me when I kissed you back in highschool... To throw me across the room... Isn't it?" James asked. "Wow... I wonder why you have them."

"Y-Yeah..." he said. "I can do… More thingth with them though." he said, shrugging the blanket off his shoulders. He covered himself in the red and blue before he lifted himself off the couch, floating. "Ith really cool."

"Cool. Wait... That's what he meant by fly!" James looked at Sollux wide-eyed. "It all makes sense now! Well, not all really but a lot. Where are you guys from? You've never told me..."

"Well..." he breathed. "Not here." he said quietly.

"I know that. Are you from another country or something? You don't have an accent..." James stated. "You can tell me."

"Another planet." Sollux whispered, sitting back down on the couch.

"Really?" James raised an eyebrow at this statement. "What's it called?"

"Alternia." he said, blinking at him, feeling another sneeze coming on.

"At that is where exactly?" He asked. "I've never heard of it before..."

"Latht I calculated... Over 200 lightyearth away." he said quietly.

"Holy shit... You're not kidding... Um okay..." James started to twitch a little. 'So Sollux is an alien... But he's still hot as hell and he's still with Karkat... Wait... Karkat! Does Karkat know that he's dating an alien?' "So... Let me get this straight... You are an alien... Who came to earth for whatever reason." He paused for a second gathering words. "And you have been dating Karkat since you came to earth... Does Karkat know he's dating an alien?"

Sollux fought hard to control his laughter, but he couldn't. He burst out laughing, looking at him before another sneeze erupted, this one facing into the kitchen. A beam of light shot out of his eyes, knocking over one of the chairs. "Fuck." he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Karkat ith one too."

"Oh... That would make sense..." James smiled at his mistake. "So, the matesprit and kismesis thing is all from your planet? Red feelings are what you call love?"

"Yeah." he said, blinking. "Ith more like pity." he replied. "Like... Well... I mean between Karkat and I ith actual love, but mothtly ith pity." he shrugged his shoulders. "Like... I pity you tho much, leth be loverth kind of thing."

"Okay. So, did you guys look human on your planet or are you secretly a little green man?" James asked, smirking.

"No. Gray." he said, "With hornth. I have pictureth." he said, getting up. "They're in my room."

"Really? Can I see them?" James perked up a little.

"Thath why I got up." He said, walking into the bedroom, crawling over his bed to the headboard, where there was an album of pictures labeled something in a weird language.

"What's that say?" James asked, pointing to the strange, angular writing.

"It thayth 'Alternia'" he read as he opened it up. The first picture in there was a picture of him as a grub. "Oh gog ew..." he grumbled, flipping the page to a picture of three sweep old Sollux standing next to the outside of his hivestem.

"Is that... You? What's that thing behind you?" James started asking question after question.

"Thath me. I wath... Uhh..." he thought about it. "Thikth?" he blinked. "Tho, three thweepth." he nodded his head a little. "That'th my hive."

"Sweeps? Hive? These mean what?" James shrugged as he reached for the album. "Can I hold it?"

Sollux handed him the album. "Uh... Thweep ith a thweep of the thun." he said. "Tho like... 2.1 yearth ith one thweep." he said. "Hive ith my houth. Like... Mine wath like an apartment." he smiled. "Other than that I can't really dethcribe it."

"Okay. That makes sense. Have any pictures of baby Karkat?" James asked.

"Keep flipping. Therth a couple with him and hith luthith." Sollux said, yawning.

"Lusus? Is that like a parent or something?" James asked flipping the page. "Oh that's cute! What the hell is it though?"

"Oh gog ew no don't look at that that'th me." he reached for the book, scowling.

James shifted away. "Why do you look like a caterpillar? This is so fucking adorable!"

"I wath a grub." he said, frowning. "My luthith decided to dreth me in that... Thtupid thing."

"Grub? Is that Alternian for baby?" James asked. "That is so cute!"

"No... I wath a grub." he frowned. "Thith... Well... Bug thing." he said, holding out his hands to show how big he was. "About... Thith long with thikth legth."

"That's tiny... And look at you now! Almost as tall as me!" James laughed, flipping the page. "Why is this grub red? Is that..."

"Thath KK." he said, blinking at the picture. "He wathn't any nither then either." he laughed a little.

"Well, that's easy to believe but why is he red?" James asked. "What color were you as a grub?"

"Yellow. Like that banana." he shook his head. "Therth a few more of grub me in there too, but therth more of my failureth at picthure taking." he laughed. "I cut off Tav'th hornth tho often." he said, shaking his head. "And Gam ith jutht too tall."

"Tav? Is Gam supposed to be that Gamzee guy that Karkat was with a lot?" James asked. "I kinda remember him. Stupidly tall, stoner kid?"

"Yeah." he smiled. "He... Wath really into... Bad thingth back on Alternia. Heth clean now which ith really good for Tav. Tavroth... Uh... The one in the wheelchair and the metal legth."

"Yeah. I remember now. The one that practically controled Gamzee." James nodded a little. "They have drugs on your planet?"

"Well... Not really." he turned to a picture of the inside of his hive, pointing to the red and blue thing filled with lime green liquid. "That." he started, "Ith a recuperacoon. Ith like a bed. Ith filled with thlime. Ith pretty much mandatory to thleep in it at leatht once a week or elth you'll become homithidal." he nodded. "Gamthee ate that thtuff and it methed up hith head."

"Oh... That sucks." James said. "Do you have any more recent pictures of you and Karkat? Like after you two becames matesprits? I want to see how much you changed."

Sollux flipped past a few pictures of Eridan and Feferi along with some pictures of Tavros and Gamzee before getting to pictures that were taken right before they left for earth. Karkat was standing next to Sollux outside of Karkat's hive. Gamzee had taken the picture.

"Is that Karkat's hive? And why aren't you two holding hands? Weren't you dating in this?" James asked. "You would think that with Karkat's obsession with romance that he would hold your hand in a picture."

"I hated the idea." he said softly, frowning. "I really didn't like the idea of romanthe." he said, frowning. "I gueth... They were bleak timeth. I had a lot of problemth."

"What happened?" James asked. "Just saying, you look scared and Karkat looks pissed."

"Karkat alwayth lookth pithed." he smiled. "I wath alwayth the thy one. Until I flipped my thiit and lotht it at thcool one day."

"What made you do that?" He asked.

"To be honetht... I can't remember." he frowned, looking down at his hands. "I uthed to hear voitheth... Of the dead in my head telling me what to do and how to do it. I wath powerful. " he frowned. "KK doethn't know, but thome of the voitheth have returned." he bit his lip gently, feeling the pain start in the pit of his stomach. "I don't have the heart to tell him."

* * *

><p>{{AN}} Okay. Posting this edit because we got a comment about it. ":if sollux is supposed to be human, why is he yellow…?" It's simple. It has to do with something that's happening in upcoming chapters. Wait and you will have your answers. See ya on Friday guys~

Addy and Saphyre~


	28. Chapter 28

"Why not? He obviously trusts you. He let you sleep with me! Why don't you just tell him?" James knew how much the pair loved each other. "He'll help as much as he can and you know it."

"Becauth when he knowth what they're thaying he'll... Worry." he swallowed, feeling tears start to well up in his eyes. They even scared him.

"What are they saying?" James asked. "Are they telling you to hurt him?"

"No..." he said. "Worth." he closed his eyes, sending tears down his cheeks. "It keepth telling me that the droneth are coming. The droneth, the droneth. I... I know what it meanth... But I can't do anything about it and I dont know why or... Anything... But ith a terrifying thought... Becauthe if... If the'th thtill alive then..." he started sobbing.

James wrapped his arms around Sollux, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to comfort him. "I don't know what these drones are but you're safe."

"Culling droneth." he said quietly. "Droneth from my planet... They... They kill depending on the queen'th order. They'll capture everyone and forth them into thlavery... I... I'll become part of the thip." he whimpered, "My anthethtor wath uthed to power the queenth thip for a long long time... He wath killed violently."

"You're safe." James said with a firm tone. "I won't let you or Karkat get hurt okay?"

"If you thay tho..." he whispered. "Not... Not even the thtrongetht... Can thtand up to a thubjuggulator."

"It doesn't matter. I'm a fucking ninja man. I'll keep you two safe." James reassured him. How strange... He had fallen for two boys that were in a relationship together... 'Wow am I fucked up.'

Sollux sighed. He gently pushed James away from him ever so gently, feeling his powers latch out and wrap around his wrist. "When I'm thick I can't control them well... Jutht bruth it off."

"Okay..." James moved as if he was batting away a fly or something. "That kinda tickles..."

"Thorry." he flipped the page in the book to a picture of his lusus holding him as a grub. "Aww..." he frowned. "I mith my luthuth."

"That looks cool!" James smiled, wrapping his arms back around Sollux until he realized what he was doing. "Oh... Sorry."

"Ith fine." he said, frowning as he touched the picture. "I accidentally killed him." he said, frowning. "I wathn't mythelf."

"That sucks man." James said softly.

"I fell athleep in the mind honey and I ended up eating it... It... Well..." he shook his head, surpressing a shiver.

"Mind honey?"

"Yeah." he replied. "It uh..." he thought about it. "I... I can't dethcribe it. It maketh you thmarter... By like... A lot." he shifted, feeling his powers flare again, lashing out further. "It... Made me go crathy."

"Okay." James nodded. "So no mind honey."

"I can't find anything like it here." he said, frowning. "Regular honey ith amathing though." he said, smiling.

"So that's why you like honey. I get it now." James smiled. "Real quick question. How did you and Karkat become matesprits?"

He laughed. "Oh dear." he smiled. "Bathically we fucked." he laughed, scratching the back of his head.

"Really? There was no romantic dialouge about your feelings? Just sex?" James asked. "Wasn't expecting that."

"Well...we fucked firtht and then did the romantic thtuff." he smiled. "He took care of me when I didn't eat and when I ended up doing thomething that hurt me. Which wath accidentally eating the mind honey again."

"So that's why he got mad at you all the time! And no wonder you're skinny as fuck. Honestly, thought I was going to break you yesterday." James smirked. "Who confessed first? Sorry if I seem like a nerd asking all these questions but I, even being as hot as I am, like romance too."

"I can't gain weight according to the doctor." he said, rubbing his eyes. "KK did."

"Really? But he looks the same. Just less grey and without horns... Or pointy teeth." James said.

"He doeth." he said, yawning. "I wath the thame I gueth." he said, touching his head. "I have bumpth thtill." he said, smiling.

"Where your horns used to be? You never did explain why you were yellow as a grub and Karkat was red." James said.

"Blood color." he said, reaching into his hair to find the nubs that were left. "It wath a cathte thythtem." he stumbled over the words. "KK wath at the very, very bottom."

"Is that why he's so self conscious?" James asked.

"Yeah." Sollux nodded his head a little bit. "I wath almotht near the top. Jade bloodth were above me and then it got to middle clathh, which wath blue bloodth, and then indigo whitch wath Gamthee, and then the high bloodth of purple and thtuff."

"That explains a lot..." James said softly.

Sollux nodded, shivering. "Yeah." he whispered, smiling.

Hours passed as James asked questions about Alternia. James had fixed dinner for the two of them as Sollux told stories from the past. "What day do you leave for Paris?" James asked a couple months later.

"Uh..." he rubbed the back of his head, laying on the couch, all sprawled out. "Tuethday."

"How excited are you to see Karkat again?" James asked, a soft smile on his lips.

"Very." he grinned, shifting around to shove things into his suitcase with his powers. "I feel lathy today." he smiled.

"I can tell." James sighed. "Glad to see that I don't have to pack for you." He laughed a little. "Did you get him anything yet? You said you wanted to get him a little present."

"Yeah. I got him a little thomething." he smiled.

"What did ya get him?" James asked swaying a little. He was so comfortable with Sollux.

"Jutht another little crab thing." he smiled. "Thomething thtupid." he laughed, grabbing the bag from his suitcase, showing him a crab pillow pet.

"I bet he'll love it." He smiled. "Are you still wanting me to drive you to the airport?"

"Yeah. " he smiled. "That'd be wonderful." he smiled, leaning back on the couch, sighing quietly.

"What time should I be here?" He asked, leaning back against the couch.

"Well my plane leaveth at..." he thought about it, looking at his plane ticket. "Theven am."

"Fuck... I'll be here at 4:30 to wake your ass up." James sighed. "I will have coffee."

"Yay." he smiled brightly, "That maketh me happy. Coffee ith a wonderful thing."

"It is." James nodded. "By the way, stop being adorable! I mean seriously, how in the hell does Karkat not feel the need to jump on you any time you smile?" James sighed again. "You two are just too adorable."

"Ith becauthe we do that anyway." he smiled brighter, laughing a little. "I don't know how he doeth it anyway."

"Does what? Put up with your adorableness?" James asked. "I mean seriously. He's got to have like an will of steel or something. Plus, how do you not jump him when he giggles? That shits cute."

"Oh I do." he smiled. "I like thnuggling with him." he grinned.

"Anyone would like snuggling with him. He's a fucking cuddle slut!" James laughed. "Have you talked to him yet today?"

"I have. He called me thith morning." he smiled sweetly.

"That's good. Is he picking you up at the airport?" He asked.

"Yup." he smiled brightly. "I'm really eckthited." he giggled.

James smiled. "Do you want lunch? I'm craving chinese food."

Sollux went to eat lunch.

Soon the few days had passed and Sollux was ready with his passport in hand to board the plane to France. He rode most of the way there, his hands nervously fumbling in his lap as he watched the plane soar over the mountians. He arrived in Paris in one piece, getting off the plane with a shaky step. He pulled his carry on bag with him, his legs slightly shaky, and his mind racing. Everything around him was in a language he didnt know. He felt nervous.

Until he saw him.

Karkat stood there, talking with Chris and Sophie. He turned after checking his phone. Looking up, he saw the person that he had missed so much. A smile made its way onto his face as he ran towards his love. "Sollux!" He yelled wrapping his arms around him. "I missed you so much!"

"KK." he smiled, wrapping his arms tightly around him, holding him close. "KK I love you tho much." he grinned.

They stayed like that for a minute before Chris and Sophie walked over. "So you're Sollux. I figured you would be taller than Karkat." Chris smiled.

Karkat pulled away a little. "Sollux, this is Chris and his girlfriend Sophie." He smiled up at Sollux, keeping his arms around him.

Sollux grinned, and bowed his head a little, "Ith nice to meet you."

"Believe me when I say that we hear a lot about you." Sophie smiled at Sollux. "He's been so excited about this."

Karkat nodded and snuggled closer to Sollux. "Well, I missed him and I really wanted to see him." Karkat pouted a little.

Sollux grinned, gently turning his head to kiss him. "Mmmm."

Karkat smiled into the kiss. "I love you."

"By the way Sollux. I'd watch out. Karkat said he's going to cuddle you to death." Chris laughed.

"Thath fine by me." he said, his face lighting up a little.

Karkat smiled. "Lets head back to the dorm, I bet you are tired." Karkat said softly. Chris nodded grabbing Sophie's hand and heading toward baggage claim.

"Eckthouthted." he said, smiling. "I'd like to get thome theleep."

"And cuddle with me..." Karkat pouted a little. He was just acting like this to get Sollux to kiss him again. God, how he had missed those sweet kisses. Along with coming home from Italy, the whole Disney World adventure and Sollux becoming his matesprit, this was one of the best moments of his life.

Sollux leaned down, gently kissing his lips carefully. "Mmm. I love you."

Karkat smiled, kissing back. "I love you too." He whispered. They finally got Sollux's stuff and headed out to Chris's car. Sollux and Karkat sat in the back, talking quietly about how things had been since the last time they had chatted on Skype. "I missed you so much. This is going to be the best week ever!" Karkat smiled leaning against Sollux.

Sollux smiled. "Your accent ith back." he said, grinning. "KK, I've mithed you tho much." he grinned, gently leaning over, resting his head on his shoulders.

Karkat smiled as he started to play with Sollux's fingers. "I can't believe that you're really here... It kinda feels like a dream..." Karkat smiled.

"I'm real." he said, grinning. "Ith all good." he whispered, wetting his lips. "I love you. Tho much. I'm glad to be here... Even if it ith confuthing ath hell."

"What's confusing about it?" Karkat asked softly, tracing shapes on Sollux's palm.

"Well... Everything ith backwardth." he smiled. "Driving and thtuff." he grinned. "And I don't thpeak the language."

"Chris and Sophie are going to help with the language stuff. I can read french but I can't speak it." Karkat laughed a little. "Most of the recipes that we've been given are in French and Chris helped me learn the words. Plus, I'll be your guide through Paris." He said Paris as the French do, smiling. "About that accent..." He giggled softly.

"That'th good." he replied, smiling. "I'm glad. Becauth I'm gonna fail in that department." he snorted a little, leaning back in the chair.

"I'm so happy that you're here." Karkat whispered as they pulled into the parking lot of their dorm. "Chris is going to drop us off. He's staying with Sophie for the week." Karkat informed him.

Sollux smiled. "Alrighty." he said, smiling brightly. "Thoundth good."

Karkat hopped out of the car after it had been put in park, grabbing one of Sollux's suitcases and hauling it into his dorm. "Thank god for elevators!" He laughed. "By the way, this is the RD of the building, Jean. Jean this is my boyfriend Sollux!"

Sollux smiled. "Ith nithe to meet you." he said softly, holding his suitcase.

"Bonjour! Oh wait… My apologies, you don't speak French." Jean said. "I'll just sign you in. Karkat gave me all of the information already."

"Ahhh." he said, trying to hear through his thick accent. "I thee."

Karkat smiled. "My room is on the top floor. I have an awesome view!" He pulled Sollux along gently.

Sollux followed along, grinning widely. "Okay okay!" he followed along, pulling his suitcase

Karkat opened his door after they had gotten to his floor. "This is it." He said softly. Candid pictures of Sollux scattered the desk. "Oh... Stay here for a second." Karkat put his hand on Sollux's chest before hurrying into the room and sliding all the pictures into the drawer. "Now come in!"

Sollux blinked. "Okay." he said, looking into the room. "Thith ith amathing." he said, grinning as he looked around. "Wow..."

"Just sit on the bed." Karkat smiled. "It's amazing."

Sollux sat down, looking out the window. "Wow...what a view." he smiled, rubbing his eyes a little. He was exhausted beyond belief.

Karkat nodded, slipping off his jeans and walking over to Sollux. "Let's go to bed. I'm sure you're tired." He kissed his cheek gently. "I'm so glad you came. This is going to be the best Christmas ever!"

Sollux grinned, pushing his things off to the floor as he slipped his pants off, pulling his shirt off over his head. He pulled himself under the covers, curling up next to karkat. "I'm glad I came too.." he said softly, kissing Karkat. "I'm tho tired. Leth retht."

Karkat nodded, curling into Sollux. "I love you so much Sollux." He whispered.

"I love you too." he said, kissing the top of his head as he held him gently. "Mmm... Tho much."

Karkat smiled as he fell asleep. When morning came, he didn't want to move. It was warmer than normal and it was all because Sollux was there. He watched Sollux sleep as he played with his hair. "Je t'aime."

Sollux breathed softly. He was having wild dreams. His mind raced and his limbs twitched as he fled from culling drones, threatening to kill both of them. He felt a sharp pain on the side of his head as he shifted awake, his eyes opening and his hand going to grab Karkat's arm, his face panic stricken.

"Sollux?" Karkat said quietly. "What's wrong? You look scared..."

"b-Bad dream." he whispered, his eyes wide in shock. "I... I don't think I can go back to thleep after that."

"It's 10:30 in the morning so I don't think you need to be going back to sleep anyways." Karkat snuggled against him. "Mmmmmmm."

Sollux wrapped his arms around him gently, his eyes fluttering closed for a brief moment before he opened them again, the same images flooding his vision.

"If you want, I can take you to the practice kitchen and make you breakfast... How does honey pancakes sound? Or maybe even crepes?"

"Crepeth." he said softly, rubbing his eyes. "I... I need loth of hugth today okay?" he blinked, his face pale.

"Can do!" Karkat smiled, wrapping his arms around Sollux. "After breakfast, let's go to the park!"

Sollux nodded, whimpering as he wrapped his arms around Karkat. "I like that idea."

"Baby, tell me what happened in the dream." Karkat said, his voice soft but firm. Sollux was usually never clingy like this unless it was a dream about death or... Had the voices returned? Could that return? What would happen if they did? Karkat was going to be in Paris for another 3 months. How was he supposed to help Sollux?

"Droneth. I dreamed about droneth." he bit his lip, shivering.

"The culling drones? Oh... Honey Bee..." Karkat wrapped his arms around his love tighter. "It feels like it's been forever since we last cuddled... Let's stay like this for a bit longer... Okay?"

Sollux nodded, burying his face in Karkat's shirt. "T-The voiceth came back... I... I don't know what to do." he felt a shiver come over him. He wanted to cry so bad, but he didn't want to be weak.

Karkat strated to gently run his hands through Sollux's hair. "It's okay. I'm here." He cooed softly. Karkat moved to where Sollux's horns used to be. "Ow... Something sharp just scratched me..." He pulled his hand back before looking at where his hand had been. "Sollux... I think your horns are coming back..."


	29. Chapter 29

Sollux gasped, his eyes going wide. "N-No... No..." he quivered. "It... It can't... It can't be..."

Karkat put his hand on his own head, rubbing the spot where his horns used to be. "I think mine are too.." He said softly. "What's wrong with that?" He looked at Sollux. "What's going on? Why are you freaking out?"

"The voitheth keep telling me... That... That the code failed. That the culling droneth will come in time... And we will thowly return to our normal thelveth... Like we were." he shivered. "I... Ith a thcrary thought."

"Why didn't you tell me Sollux?" Karkat asked. "How long have they been saying that? Have you told any of the other trolls?"

"I didn't get the chance. They thtarted after you left to come here... And they've only been getting worth." he shivered, looking down at Karkat's chest. "I jutht worry."

"You could have told me on skype or on the phone!" Karkat looked at him. "I kinda need to know stuff like this.." He pulled Sollux close to him. "The culling drones scare the hell out of me... I... Was so close to being culled..." He shivered against Sollux. "I just... I need to know stuff like that..."

"I'm thorry..." he whispered, feeling a shiver run through him. "It... It will be okay. Thomehow. W-we have Feferi... And the ith like... In control of them thtill at leatht... I think."

"Let's hope so..." Karkat whimpered. He had been so close to being culled when he was a wriggler that just the thought of the culling drones sent chills down his spine. "We should go eat..."

"Y-Yeah." he said quietly, his cheeks pink as he pulled away from Karkat gently as he got out of bed.

Karkat crawled out of bed after Sollux, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist. "Let's go shower first." He said softly.

"Yeah." he smiled a little, getting up as he walked with Karkat, his arm wrapping around his hip.

"We have a private bathroom." Karkat said softly. "But I just want to shower." He said that aloud but he know that if Sollux started to touch him that he wouldn't stop him.

"I figured." he smiled. "I do too. I'm hungry." he said, rubbing his eyes as he walked close.

Karkat led Sollux to the small bathroom. "Can you turn the water on while I get us some towels?" Karkat asked.

"Yeah." he turned on the water, letting the water run into the shower, feeling it run warm under his fingertips.

Karkat went back into the room, getting in his closet and pulling out a couple towels. He headed back into the bathroom. "Okay. My shower stuff is on the right side of the shelf." Karkat pointed to the shelf in the back of the shower.

Sollux nodded. "Okay. Want me to thower with you?" he asked, slipping his fingers into the waistband of his own boxers.

"Duh." Karkat smiled. "That's the only way to shower since we're together again!"

Sollux grinned. "Yeth." he said, grinning as he slipped them down around his hips, stepping into the shower.

Karkat stripped himself of his clothes before joing Sollux in the shower. "I miss this. It's like being at home!"

Sollux grinned, pulling Karkat close to him, smiling. "Mmmmm." he whispered, kissing his face as he grabbed for the shampoo.

Karkat smiled. "You're such a dork." He smiled kissing Sollux back as his arms snaked around his waist. "I missed you so much!"

Sollux smiled, wrapping his arms around him gently. "Mmmmm..." he hummed, grinning. "I mithed thith tho much."

"You know you just wanted to see me naked." Karkat smirked. "Does this please you?" He laughed.

"Yeah." he grinned. "It doeth. I like theeing you. All of you." he grinned, his hand running down Karkat's hip slightly. "Leth finith up and go eat. I'm really hungry."

"You are such a fucking pervert! I hope you realize this." Karkat smirked. "I agree though. I'm hungry too."

"Yup." he grinned. "Three monthth without you there? Of courth. What elthe am I thupothed to do?" he said, smiling.

"Jack off." Karkat answered bluntly as he turned to grab his body wash. "Can you get my back for me?"

Sollux laughed. "I do enough of that." he said, gently moving behind Karkat, washing his back gently.

"Bullshit." Karkat said. "You know you're poking me right..." He hadn't meant for anything sexual to happen but he guessed that this was just going to be something that became tradition. Get reunited after Karkat gets back from wherever he went to school, fuck, cuddle, and then finally go to bed with random moments of eating in between.

"Thorry." he turned to the side a little. "Can't help it." he smiled.

"Perv." Karkat smirked at him. "So... How often have you... touched yourself since I came to Paris?" He asked, curious.

Sollux turned pink. "Well..." he tapped his chin. "A lot."

"To what?" Karkat asked. Now he was just trying to get Sollux frustrated, not like he wasn't already...

"W-Wh-what doeth that matter..." he blushed, whimpering as he shifted.

"I just want to know." Karkat said, turning to face Sollux and running his hands up his chest. "To what?"

"P-Pictureth... P-porn... I-i don't know." he looked down, biting his lip. "W-Whatever I feel..." he said softly.

"Pictures of what?" Karkat asked, his fingers tracing Sollux's hip bone.

Sollux grumbled. "KK... Theriouthly... Jutht... Of thingth..." he clenched his fists slightly, feeling slightly attacked. He knew what Karkat was doing... He just didn't want to answer.

"Why can't I know?" Karkat asked softly. "I'll tell you what I've been doing..."

"J-jutht pictureth of thtuff..." he said softly, looking at him, his cheeks pink.

"Please?" Karkat pushed his body slightly against Sollux's. "Tell me..."

Sollux turned bright red. "Pictureth of you..." he looked down, his eyes fluttering closed.

"What type of pictures of me?" Karkat smirked, kissing Sollux's neck. He would get the answers to the questions he wanted to ask.

Sollux blushed. "Guh t-thtop a-athking me..." he breathed, shivering as Karkat kissed his neck. "A-Aaah..."

"Why? You know you like this... Torture." Karkat nipped at his neck gently. "Which pictures?"

"The oneth on the computer." he said softly, his cheeks lighting up. The water was starting to run cold.

"The ones from Alternia?" Karkat asked. "Why don't you turn the water off?

He moved, gently turning the nob to off as he leaned against the warm wall of the shower. "Yeah..."

"Really? Why?" Karkat asked. "Do you prefer troll me?"

"I... I like you how you are." he said, his cheeks dark. "KK... W-why are you doing thith?" he looked up at him, his hands fumblng against Karkat's stomach.

"Because I'm curious and you won't give me the answers that I want." Karkat answered simply. "I'm surprised you haven't asked anything yet."

"We-well wh-what did you get off to then?" he asked, blinking.

"Pictures of you." Karkat answered. "I have them hidden in a secret location."

"Oh... I thee." he nodded a little, smiling. "Which oneth?"

"Pictures of you that I've taken." Karkat answered. "They're all candid. What's your favorite one?" He asked softly.

"Oh gog..." he grumbled, shifting slightly as he let his hands rest on Karkat's hips. "Mmmm." he said softly, "All of them."

"There has to be a favorite. One that gets you hotter than the others." Karkat breathed in his ear.

Sollux shivered. "N-N-No not really..." he said softly, his body shaking. "K-Karkat..."

"Yes?" Karkat asked. It was a rare occasion that Sollux ever said Karkat's real name. "You didn't call me KK... Is there something you need?"

He felt his cheeks darken. "You're taunting me." he said quietly, looking at him through half closed eyes. "Maybe you want thomething."

"Maybe I just feel like torturing you." Karkat said, nipping at Sollux's neck again. "I know you like it."

Sollux felt his breath hitch. "KK..." he whispered. "I do."

"I can tell but we should probably go eat." Karkat smirked, pulling away. He was getting that feeling of wanting to be dominated.

Sollux felt his face droop. "You'd better fix thith then." he said, looking at him with narrow eyes. He kept his hands tightly glued to the sides of Karkat's hips.

"What will you do if I don't?" Karkat asked, tilting his head.

"Take care of it mythelf and get really mad for a little while." he smirked darkly.

"Maybe I want to see that. You wouldn't ever let me when I was in Italy..." Karkat pouted.

"Ith... A little embarrathing." he whispered, looking down at his hands.

Karkat pulled away. "I know." Karkat said. "I've let you watch me before... Multiple times actually."

"B-..." he felt a shiver run down his spine. "But..."

"What?" Karkat asked. He got an idea and he wanted to see what would happen if he... He turned, putting his hands against the wall. "You want me?"

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he said, blushing. "You... You want it?"

Karkat nodded. "I've missed you..." He let his hand flitter over his length. "Sollux..." He moaned softly.

Sollux didn't think it was possible to blush even darker. "Gog..." he turned a deep shade of red. He moved over, slipping a finger inside of Karkat, watching his reaction.

Karkat moaned loudly, pushing against it. "Mmmmm Sollux..." He moaned, wrapping his hand around his length.

Sollux quickly added a second and a third finger, moving them inside him gently.

Karkat gripped the wall with his free hand, stroking himself harder. "Gog... More..." He whimpered.

Sollux smirked, removing his fingers and replacing them with the top most one, letting the bottom one rub underneath Karkat's.

Karkat gasped. He stopped stroking himself, moving his hands to grab Sollux's. "Can you lift me a little?" Karkat asked softly, because with being lifted, Sollux would be able to get in deeper.

"With my powerth?" he asked, feeling his psionics latch out and grab hold of him.

Karkat nodded, feeling himself be lifted off the ground a little and the added bonus of Sollux going deeper. "Ngh." He bit his lip, squeezing Sollux's hands.

Sollux grinned, pushing deeper as he started thrusting. "N-Nnnn..." he panted.

Karkat whimpered every time Sollux thrust into him. 'Looks like that vibrator won't be getting used for a while...' he thought to himself. "Gog... Sollux..."

Sollux moaned, reaching around Karkat, stroking his other length, panting quietly against Karkat's neck.

Karkat couldn't help the noises that he made. He had been so excited about Sollux coming to Paris that he had been leaving his sexual desires unresolved.

Sollux moaned. "KK I'm clothe." he said softly, his cheeks dark.

"Me too..." He whimpered. "Sollux..." The knot in his stomach became tighter and tighter until he released onto the wall, tightening around Sollux. He layed his head back on his shoulder, panting and moaning as Sollux thrust into him.

Sollux gripped his hips tightly, thrusting as far as he could into his heat, moaning and crying out as he released, thrusting into his orgasm. "Nnghhh KK..."

Karkat's breath hitched in his throat. "Gog..." He moaned, pushing back against Sollux.

Sollux pulled out, his hands shaking. "Damn..."

Karkat was set back on the ground, his entire body shook from the pleasure still rushing through him. Once the psionics were released, his body decided to give out on him.


	30. Chapter 30

Sollux reached out, grabbing hold of him before he fell. "KK are you okay?" he asked, his eyes suddenly full of worry.

Karkat nodded. "A little dizzy but fine." He leaned against Sollux. He couldn't tell Sollux that he hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately. "You're just too amazing and somehow, I forgot that..." He laughed. "It's that stupid vibrator's fault."

Sollux sighed, wrapping his arms around him. He used his powers to turn the water back on, rinsing the sweat and release from their bodies, soaking them with warm water.

"That also feels amazing." Karkat commented on the warm water running over his body. "We need to go eat soon."

He smiled and nodded. "Y-Yeah." he said quietly.

Karkat leaned against him. "I love you."

"I love you too." he said, smiling.

With a bit of help from Sollux, they got out of the shower and dressed. Karkat led him down to the practice kitchen. He gathered the ingredients he needed for crepes with honey before standing at the stove, making the thin pastries. "I'm fine Sollux. Really. You can sit down and relax." Karkat said, looking at Sollux, whose arm was still around his waist.

"You thure?" he asked, his voice soft. "I jutht gotta make thure." he smiled a little, his face bright.

"I'm fine." Karkat sighed. "Now go sit your ass down."

Sollux nodded, walking across the room, taking a seat at the table, leaning back and watching Karkat.

Karkat cooked carefully and with a smile on his face. He loved cooking and it made him happy to cook for Sollux. "Do you still want to go to the park?"

"Yeah." he said, yawning. "I'm thtill ekthauthted." he said, rubbing at his eyes. "Tho I might be a little... Not... All here, but I'll go with you." he smiled and leaned forward onto his hand.

"We can nap first if you want. The parks here don't close at dark." Karkat said. "Or we could go to a cafe and have coffee."

"I think I like that thecond idea." he said quietly. "Can you order coffee in French?"

"Oui." Karkat smiled at him. "That's about it though... Besides the names of dishes, I can't say anything besides I love you."

Sollux smiled. "I bought a dictthonary when I wath at the airport. Ith in my thuitcathe."

"That's not going to help with grammar and verb conjugations. Chris is actually from America and studied his ass off to be fluent. He showed me something things about French. Shit's hard." Karkat said. "Besides honey, is there anything else you want on these?"

"Nope." he said, smiling. "Honey ith all I need." he grinned.

Karkat looked back at him and glared. "Fuck you."

"KK, I can have you covered in honey any day." he grinned. "That would actually be kinda hot."

"How about you keep that thought for when you get back to the states." Karkat glared at him. "I am not putting honey on my body. Ever."

Sollux laughed. "Awww..." he grinned. "It would be good."

"No." Karkat said turning his attention back to the plate of crepes. He pulled out a bottle of honey before setting the plate and the bottle on the table. Quickly, he walked over to the fridge, pulling out the chocolate mixture that he had made a couple days before. "But I wouldn't mind covering you in chocolate..." He smirked at Sollux.

Sollux blushed. "Not now." he laughed a little, a sly grin still on his face.

"Way to make me feel like a jerk..." Karkat averted his gaze. "Now eat, fuckass."

"You eat too." he said, smiling as he took a bite. "Mmmmm..." he hummed. "Wonderful."

Karkat spread the delicious chocolate mixture over the crepe, folding almost like a burrito before starting to eat. He smiled at the taste. "Mmmmmm." He hummed as he continued to eat.

"I have the motht amathing matethrprit ever." he grinned. "He taketh care of me when I'm thick, when I'm hungry, he feedth me wonderful food... Ith amathing."

"I know I'm amazing." Karkat beamed. It always made him feel better about himself whenever Sollux said things like that.

"Baby." he smiled, gently nudging him under the table with his foot. "I love you."

Karkat looked up at his matesprit, his cheeks pink. "I love you too." He smiled softly.

Sollux finished his plate before taking them over to the sink.

Karkat watched as Sollux walked toward him, wondering why Sollux was smiling so widely.

"Hmm?" he turned around, facing Karkat as the water ran over the sticky plate. "What's the matter?"

"What's with the huge grin?" Karkat asked, wrapping his arms around his love's waist.

"Oh nothing." he smiled, pulling him in for a kiss. "Jutht thinking about how much I love you."

"That's so cheesy, I think I could make nachos." Karkat smiled, kissing him gently. "But it was cute."

"Pbbfftthhh." he laughed, kissing him back, not able to wipe the grin from his cheeks.

Karkat pulled back. "I made something for you..." He said softly. "It's not food related."

"Oh?" he quirked an eyebrow. "Hmmm?" he shifted a little, leaning against the sink.

"It's embarassing as fuck too because it's kinda corny..." He blushed looking away. "But I made one for me too.."

"Oh?" he smiled. "I wanna thee."

"They kinda look like shit but please keep in mind that it was the first time I have ever worked with metal..." Karkat said leading him back to the bedroom. He let go of Sollux's hand long enough to get into one of his desk drawers and pull out a small black box. "Here." He handed the box to Sollux.


	31. Chapter 31

Sollux opened the box, gasping. "Oh my gog KK thith ith adorable." he laughed, taking out the necklaces. "Awethome." he wrapped his arms tight around Karkat. "I love you tho much." he kissed Karkat's cheek. "They're wonderful!"

"Do you really like them?" Karkat asked. "I love you too but these look stupid don't they?" He looked at the necklace. It was a mix of their signs.

"They're cute." he smiled, putting one around his neck. "I love it." he kissed Karkat gently.

Karkat smiled, seeing that Sollux really did like his hard work. "One of my friends makes jewelry and she taught me how to work with metal. This was the only design that I really liked." He touched the necklace gently. "It's not too close to your neck is it?"

"Itth fine." he said, grinning.

Karkat grinned at him. "I'm glad you like them." He whispered.

The pair made their way out to the coffee shop. Sollux stared almost blindly at the menu. "I can't read... Any of that."

Karkat scooted closer, translating the menu for Sollux. "Anything sound good?"

"Uh..." he tapped his chin. "That... Caramel... Thing." he said slowly, blinking.

Karkat called the waiter over and gave their order in French. The waiter nodded and went to go fill it. Karkat looked over at Sollux, a smile on his lips. "What?"

"When you thpeak frenth it thoundth cute." he smiled, shifting around as he waited for his drink.

"First you tell me that it sounds weird and now you say it's cute. Make up your mind." He smiled, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

"I have a thing for twoth remember?" he smirked. "Have to have two."

"I like certain parts of the obsession." Karkat smirked back. "Like how you have two..."

"Oi..." he pursed his lips. "Leth not talk about that here."

Karkat grinned. "You love me. Ah merci." Karkat said to the waiter as he sat the cups of coffee in front of the pair.

Sollux bowed his head a little. He wasn't even going to try and repeat that. He sat down, sipping his drink gently. "Wow... Thith ith good."

"It's French, of course it's good." Karkat smiled sipping at his mocha. "Speaking of France, do you want to see the Eiffel Tower?"

Sollux grinned. "I'd really like to." he said softly, smiling.

Karkat smiled. "Let's finish our coffee and then go!"

"Alright." he said softly. Together the pair made it to the Eiffel tower. Sollux stared up at it with shock. They took the elevator to the top, and Sollux gasped, looking out as far as his eye could see. "Wow..." he breathed.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Karkat smiled. He hadn't been up for the sole fact that Sollux wasn't there with him. "Oh my gog..."

Sollux walked to the balcony, looking over the edge. "Mmmmm..." he hummed. "Thith ith beautiful."

Karkat looked at Sollux. "Well Paris is the city of love." He smiled softly. "This is the first time I've been up here."

"I'm thurprithed." he said, smiling. "I like it up here." he said, leaning against Karkat gently, resting his head against his shoulder.

"I didn't want to come up here if you weren't here..." Karkat admitted. "So sue me for being a romantic..."

"You're tho romantic KK." he laughed, holding him close.

The pair decided that it was cold, and that they should go back inside. They got back into the elevator, sinking back down to sea level.

"That was amazing! We should go back before you leave." Karkat smiled up at him. "The snow looks amazing from up there." He leaned against Sollux.

Sollux nodded, wrapping his arm tightly around him as they walked back to their apartment. "Yeah." he said softly, his grin widening. "I'd like that."

"There is a restuarant there, but Chris said it's really expensive." Karkat sighed. "But it doesn't matter because you're here and that makes me happy!"

"I'm up for doing whatever." he said, smiling. The next day was Christmas. He had promised Gamzee he'd call them on Christmas and would at least contact them. He leaned into Karkat gently. "Leth go home. I'm cold."

Karkat nodded, guiding them back to his dorm. "I love the lights." He smiled as they walked past a shop that had a lot of lights. "I can't wait until tomorrow!"

"Thame." he replied, smiling. "I want to theleep in tomorrow." he said quietly.

"Can and will do." Karkat smiled. "Let's hurry. I want to cuddle..." He said sofly, his face becoming a brighter red.

The pair made their way back to the dorm with ease, settling down in bed as they drifted off to sleep. Sollux dreamed that night of horrible images and the one image that stuck in his mind as he woke at 3 am, leaving him unable to sleep any longer. He sat still, staring up at the ceiling begging, wishing it hadn't flooded his vision field.

Karkat shifted in his sleep. For the last few weeks, he had been waking up at 3-4 in the morning. His eyes fluttered open. "Sollux? Are you awake?" He asked, softly pulling the blanket tighter around him. "Did you have another nightmare?"

Sollux made a quiet noise, his eyes still open wide, his heart fluttering in his chest from shock.

"What happened?" Karkat asked softly, moving his hand to cup Sollux's face. "Whatever it was, it was just a dream."

Sollux swallowed. His throat was dry. He couldn't speak. He cringed slightly, looking at Karkat. "I..."

"Yes?" Karkat snuggled against him, running his hand through Sollux's hair, falling into the familiar movement of avoiding his horns. "They've gotten bigger..." He whispered.

"T-They're... Thtill alive." he said quietly, his cheeks feeling as they grew more and more pale.

"The Condesce? She can't be!" Karkat shook his head, burying his face in Sollux's chest. "Not them... Please not them..." Karkat whimpered. Every fear of being culled rushing back to him. He had thought they were safe from that forever now. "I don't want to be culled..." He said softly, shaking.

"I... I know." he whispered, his voice soft. "KK. I... It will be okay." he whispered, his hand gently coming up to touch his face. "It will be..." he said again.

"If she's alive then that means we're becoming trolls again... The caste will come back..." He whimpered. "You'll be culled too because of me..."

"The population of the earth... They will fight it." he said, his eyes drooping shut. "They'll help thtop her... I... I wonder if my anthethtor ith thtill alive..."

Karkat didn't know what to do or say, so he just curled into Sollux's side, shivering and whimpering with fear. This was how he spent almost every night in Alternia. Well, minus the nights that Sollux was there. Sollux always made him feel better but this time... He felt like all hope was lost. 'I'm going to die... And Sollux will too... And it will be all my fault...'

"It won't." he said. "The Condethe... Thereth nothing you can do about her." he said, gently touching his face. "We have Fef." he said quietly. "And AA, and you and me, and GC, and jutht... Everyone.

"We can't kill a Subjugglator, Sollux." Karkat whimpered. "Besides, how the hell did you know what I was thinking?"

Sollux whimpered slightly and shrugged. "I... I don't know." he said, his eyes going wide. "T-think thomething again..."

'The only ones who have a chance of surviving are Gamzee, Feferi and Eridan and that's only because they are highbloods.' Karkat thought, a scowl on his face. 'The rest of us will die. Especially me...'

"KK thath not true!" he felt anger surge through him. "KK don't think that pleathe..." he breathed, his eyes closing tightly. "We won't... They will help uth... We've lived almotht 3 yearth without the thythtem... I think we can work together... T-think of the Thignlethh."

"I'm not the fucking Signless though. I can't save anyone!" Karkat said. "No one is going to listen to an angry little fuck like me. Just because we've been here for 3 years, doesn't mean that the humans will help us."

"Jameth will. Katie will if we tell her. Jameth knowth about uth." he touched his face. "It...it will be alright okay?"

"James knows? He knows we're from another planet?" Karkat asked. He glanced over at the clock. "Fuck... I'm ruining Christmas..." He laid his head back on Sollux's chest. 'I love you and I'm sorry but this really scares me...' He thought.

"I love you too." he said quietly, his cheeks darkening. "And we'll get through thith."

'Too bad I won't be able to keep any pervy thoughts from you now... That kinda sucks.' He smiled softly. He didn't feel like talking anymore.

Sollux grumbled, his face flushing slightly. "I know, I know." he said softly, whimpering. "Can we try and go to thleep?"

'Yeah. I was just trying to lighten the mood... Sorry...' Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux. 'I love you.'

"I love you too." he closed his eyes, feeling his body grow heavy. Soon he was asleep again.

Karkat couldn't sleep, his fear running through his mind. 'Sollux will die because of his relationship with me... That means Gamzee will probably die defending Tavros. So the only ones who really have a chance to make it through the Condesce coming to earth is Feferi and Eridan...' His mind was filled with morbid thoughts of death and culling drones as the sun rose.

Sollux stirred slightly, his eyes opening. He looked dead tired, his eyes sunken in.

"Morning." Karkat whispered as he felt Sollux shift. He pulled back a little. "Dreams again?"

"Nnnn..." he mumbled, scratching his head. "Nnnn..." he could feel his horns now. They hurt. They were growing through his skull. "Nnn..."

Karkat rubbed around where the horns were growing back. "I wonder how Tav is... Especially if his horns are growing back."

"I need to call Gamzee. He told me to call." he rubbed his eyes gently, feeling around for his phone.

"Little further." Karkat smiled, watching him. "A little more toward the left. Oh, don't give me that look." He laughed a little as Sollux looked at him with a weary expression. "A little more forward and you'll have it."

Sollux grabbed it and pulled it back into the bed as he dialed the familiar number. "Nnn..."

Gamzee shifted with Tavros in his lap, grabbing his phone. "Hey Solbro! How's France?"

"Good. Jutht woke up." he replied. "I have a theriouth quethtion for you." he said, looking at Karkat with narrow eyes.

"Yeah?" Gamzee asked. "What's up man?"

"Anther me honethtly. Are your hornth growing back in?"

"How the fuck did you know? I haven't even told Tav yet..." Gamzee said, shifting a little more. He tried to not wake Tavros up. "Tav's haven't started yet but he's been getting a lot of migraines."

"Ourth are coming back." he said bluntly. "My vithionth have returned along with the voiceth. I can read mindth now." he said softly. "Thomething bad ith going to happen. I need you to tell everyone when you get to the party. I'm athuming they're thtill having it right? Eridan invited me but I told him I wath coming here. He looked tho happy for me."

"Yeah. We're going later tonight. I'll talk to Feferi and have her tell everyone." Gamzee said. "What all have the voices been saying?"

"Obey..." he whispered. "Culling. A bunch of other thingth. I thaw the Condethe'th thip in my vithion. The'th coming to invade."

"Fuck... Well isn't this going to be a motherfucking party." Gamzee sighed, rolling his eyes. "How's Kar? I know how scared he is of the drones."

"Heth thivering againtht me. He didn't thleep all night." he said. "I wath up early not being able to thleep and he woke. When I told him, he freaked."

"Sounds like Kar alright. I'll call you later after the party." Gamzee said. "Take care of the little fuck. He's probably more scared than any of us will be."

"I know." he nodded his head a little. "It will be okay." he whispered into the phone. "We will all work together... I jutht know it."

"By the way, I forgot to tell you before you left. Feferi might be carrying a grub. She told Tav a few days ago that she thought she might." He said. "Let's just hope that nothing serious happens to anyone." Gamzee said softly, running his hand through Tavros' hair.

"O-Oh my gog." he breathed. "I-Ith it eridan'th?" he looked at Karkat with wide eyes.

"Who else's would it be?" Gamzee said. "It sure as hell isn't mine!" He joked. "Of course it's Eridan's."

"What?" Karkat asked. "What happened?"

"Fef'th preggo." Sollux relayed. "I'll have to pick her up thomething from here. I'm tho happy for them." he smiled brightly.

"Really? That's so awesome! Too bad the kid would be related to Eridan.." Karkat laughed. "Let's hope that Feferi doesn't let Eridan shove a stick up the kid's ass."

"Eridan ith doing a lot better." he smiled. "He'th really nice now." He rested his hand on Karkat's thigh, gently sighing. "Anyway Gam, I'mma go. Merry Chrithtmath." he said, smiling.

* * *

><p>"Merry Christmas from me and Tav!" Gamzee smiled, hanging up the phone. He sighed looking down at Tavros. "Hey Tav... I need you to wake up.."<p>

Tavros shifted, rubbing his eyes. "Nnn..."

"I have some serious shit that I need to talk to you about. Something that Sol just told me and something that I should have told you earlier..." Gamzee said softly. "I need you to promise not to freak out though."

Tavros nodded a little shakily. "W-Whats up?" he asked, sitting up slightly.

Gamzee grabbed one of Tavros' hands and gently pulled it up to the top of his head. "My horns are coming back... So are Sol and Kar's."

Tavros felt around, feeling the nubs of where the horns were growing back in. You couldn't tell with his mess of hair. Tavros whimpered. "O-Oh no..." he breathed, his eyes going wide. He touched the sides of his own head, feeling the bumps that had been there ever since they had arrived on earth.

"Sol's visions and the voices have returned too. They have been telling him that the Condesce is coming. He wants us to warn everyone at the party tonight..." Gamzee said, his eyes dark. "I know that I should have told you sooner that my horns were coming back but I didn't know that it had a meaning..."

Tavros felt his body quiver. He... He felt totally useless. He looked down at where his legs should have been. "G-Gamzee... W-wh... What are we going to do?" he asked, feeling a shiver run through him.

"About what?" He asked.

"Her... Coming here?" he bit his lip, looking frightened for the first time in his life. Really frightened. His whole form was shaking. He felt sick to his stomach.

"I'll keep you safe. You're my first priority." Gamzee said. "By the way, Sol and Kar said Merry Christmas..."

"Merry Christmas..." he whispered, feeling his hands shake slightly. "The Subjugglators ... They're... They're massive... How will you ever..." he felt so weak in this very moment.

"You're forgetting that I'm related to them." Gamzee said. "I have the fucking Mirthful Messiahs at my side. And I have you." He cupped his face with his hand. "I can do anything if it's for you."

He blushed and buried his face into Gamzee's chest, wrapping his arms around him. "G-Gamzee..." he begged. "I'm... I'm so happy to have you."

He kissed the top of Tavros' head. "I'm so happy to have you too." Gamzee smiled, wrapping his arms around Tavros. "There was another reason that I got you up. We need to start getting ready to head over to Eridan and Feferi's place."

"Okay." he said, smiling a little as he stretched out. "I want to take a shower." he said. "Can we?"

"Of course." Gamzee smiled, wrapping his arms around Tavros and sitting up. "Keep your arms around my neck." He smiled, standing and walking toward the bathroom.

Tavros leaned on him, smiling as he reached up, his hands tangling in Gamzee's long locks.

Gamzee sat Tav on the sink before peeling off his shirt. They had gotten into a shower routine when they were still in the hospital.

Tavros worked on trying and getting his clothing off.

Gamzee picked Tavros up with one arm, using his other hand to pull down his shorts. "Kinky..." He smirked.

Tavros blushed. "Gamzee... Don't..." he felt his cheeks turn pink.

"Just teasing." He smiled. "You are just too cute when you are all embarassed and shit. I love being the only one who gets to see this."

"Aww..." he blushed, his cheeks pink. "T-Thank you..."

"Let's get our shower on!" Gamzee laughed.

Tavros smiled and leaned against him. "I'll need a little help today." he said, "But I think once I get situated I'll be okay." he smiled, leaning forward.

"I'm always here to help." Gamzee said softly, sitting Tavros in his shower chair. "I got that new shampoo you wanted to try. The natural one."

"Oooh..." he smiled, reaching for it. "I like. Thank you!" he said, opening the bottle. "It smells so good!"

"It smells like strawberries." Gamzee laughed. "Are you trying to smell like food?"

"N-no, not really." he said quietly, his cheeks turning pinker. "Nnnn... G-Gamzee..."

"Again. Just teasing." Gamzee smiled. "It's so much fun to tease you." He leaned down, kissing Tavros gently.

"I know." he blushed and shifted in his chair a little, sitting forward as he washed his hair.

They showered quickly, wrapping themselves in towels to go back to the room. Gamzee put his legs on either side of Tavros, leaning down so Tavros could towel dry his hair. "I love it when you dry my hair." He smiled softly.

Tavros drooped the towel over Gamzee's hair, drying it with his hands, feeling the prod of his horns against the towel.

"Ah... Fuck..." Gamzee winced a little as the towel ran over his horns. "Fucking horns."

"S-Sorry" he gasped out, gently moving the towel away from Gamzee's head. "Did I hurt you?" he bit his lip. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's not your fault Tav. I'm fine, just… Could you be a little gentler around my horns?" He asked softly, bringing Tavros' hands and the towel back toward his head.

"Yeah..." he said, gently moving the towel again, being mindful of where his horns were.

"Thanks Tav." He sighed, feeling the towel against his head. He loved this feeling, it made him feel relaxed and calm. Like just about everything that Tavros did.

Once his hair was as dry as the towel would make it, he pulled the towel off, smiling slightly. "Better?"

"Much." Gamzee smiled lazily up at Tavros. He wrapped his arms around his waist. "Let's go get dressed."

Tavros nodded, leaning on him as they made their way back into the bedroom, his eyes dark as they dressed. He felt nervous. Somehow, the thought of being culled weighed on his mind painfully.

"Tav, I'm not going to let anything happen to you so please stop worring about it." Gamzee pulled him close. "I'd kill a million Subjugglators if it meant keeping you safe." He would do so much more than that to keep Tavros safe.

"I don't want there to be death or destruction." he said quietly, his voice quiet.

"I know. But we may not be able to help it." Gamzee said. "I'll do whatever I can to keep things peaceful."

"I know." he said, crawling across the bed as well as he could, gently wrapping himself up in Gamzee's arms.

"You done? We need to get going soon." Gamzee said, kissing the top of his head.

Tavros nodded. "Yeah." he said quietly. "I think I want to not wear my legs today. I want to be... Taken care of." he blushed a little. "Is that okay?"

"Fine with me." Gamzee said. "Gives me a reason to cuddle with you all night." He shifted, wrapping his arms around Tavros, standing up with him. "Let's go."

Tavros nodded, feeling settled in against him. He was carried out the door after being wrapped up in a blanket. They weren't going far.

Gamzee set him in the car gently, fastening the seat belt for him before closing his door and running over to the driver's side. Once inside, he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot before grabbing his boyfriend's hand, smiling as he drove to the condo of their friends.

Feferi and Eridan had moved out of the apartment complex when Eridan got a job working in the office of the school. They both made enough now to take care of themselves and it was sort of liberating. He felt so happy with Feferi it was insane. She looked absolutely radient as they prepared a wonderful meat free meal. He kissed her cheek, smiling as he heard the doorbell ring.

"Can you go get the door Eri?" She asked softly, slicing the vegetables with care. "I wonder who it is..." Feferi smiled.

"Yeah." he smiled and went to get the door. "Oh hi Gam! Hi Tav!" he smiled brightly. "Come in come in. Wwe're just gettin everythin ready to eat."

"Sweet! I like the new apartment by the way!" Gamzee smiled, carrying Tavros into the livingroom. "I'm going to set you down and go talk to Feferi about the thing. Okay Tav?"

Tavros nodded a little bit, getting settled on the couch.

Eridan smiled, sitting down next to him. "Howw havve you been Tav? Feeling better?"

Tavros nodded. "Y-Yeah!" he smiled. He looked at Eridan's head, noticing two short nubs coming out of his head, hidden mostly by his hair.

Gamzee walked into the kitchen. "Feferi... I need to talk to you."

She looked over at him. "What's up Gamzee?"

"I got a call from Sollux earlier. As you know, he's in France with Karkat. They wanted me to pass this message. Their horns are growing back, mine are too. But Sollux's visions and the voices have come back. They're telling him that the Condesce is coming to earth. He wants us to tell everyone."

Tavros and Eridan talked about silly little things, smiling and giggling with each other.

Feferi looked at Gamzee, her eyes wide. "What do you mean?"

"She's coming with her drones. We don't know what she plans to do but Tav and Kar are absolutely frightened. I figured it would be best for you to tell everyone since you have a better way with words than I do."

She nodded. "I'll tell them... Thank you for informing me."

"By the way, Kar said congrats."

Eridan and Tavros talked about little things and chilled together. It seemed like forever...things were so much better than they had been back on Alternia. Maybe this would turn out okay. Maybe the Condesce was coming for her decendant...? What would that do to Sollux? He sighed, thinking of the answers running through his head. Eridan heard the doorbell ring and he got up, letting Aradia, Equius, Nepeta, Terezi, Vriska, and Kanaya inside. Everyone looked wonderful. Tavros smiled, watching as everyone came in, taking their seats, presents in hand. Eridan excused himself to go help his lover in the kitchen.

"Eri..." Feferi looked at him, worry in her eyes. "I need you to help me with something."

Gamzee stood leaning against the counter, his arms across his chest.

Eridan nodded, his hand gently touching her shoulder. "You okay?" he asked, his eyes filled with worry. "Wwhat's wwrong Fef?"

"My ancestor is coming back. That's why you're horns are growing..." She said softly. "Sollux told Gamzee and he told me. I'll need help keeping everyone calm when I tell them what's happening."

"She's coming with the drones." Gamzee whispered. "Tav already knows."

Eridan felt the pressure hit him like a bomb. "Oh... Oh cod Fef..." he whispered, his eyes wide, his hand gently moving to her stomach. "But..." he nodded. "This... This might be a bad thing... Considerin things and all." he looked down. "But... But I hope it wworks."

"I plan on talking to her if I can get the chance..." Feferi said. "I'm just going to need help. If I can just stop the culling drones..." She whispered.

Eridan nodded. "I havve faith in you Fef." he said, wrapping his arms around her. "So much faith. "

She smiled at him. "Thanks Eri." She kissed him softly. "Gamzee go be with Tav. I need to finish dinner."

Gamzee nodded. "Thanks you two."

Eridan nodded, helping Feferi finish the meal.

Tavros sat in the other room, looking really tired. Kanaya was sitting next to him, gently patting his head as he drifted in and out of sleep. "Nnn..." he hummed. Kanaya had always been the motherly type.

"I'll take over from here Kanaya." Gamzee smiled seeing Tavros almost asleep. She smiles up at him and scoots over. He pulled Tavros onto his lap. "Tav... Eridan and Feferi know now..." He whispered.

Tavros nodded a little, leaning against Gamzee's chest. "I'm really tired." he said quietly, his mouth opening in a yawn.

"I can tell but dinner will be done soon." He smiled. "After that is the presents!"

Tavros nodded, smiling a little.

"Dinner is servved." Eridan said, leading everyone into their dining room. It had enough chairs for everyone. Two seats, which had been for Karkat and Sollux were left empty.

Vriska looked around. "Where's crabby and lispy?" she asked, looking at Eridan.

"They're in Paris. Kar is at school and Sol is vvisitin."

Gamzee sat Tavros in his seat. "If you need anything just let me know."

Tavros nodded. They started eating quietly. Ocassionally people would chatter about things. Finally, Eridan stood up, clearing his throat. "Fef and I have a few announcements to make." he smiled weakly at her.

Feferi stood. "I'll start with the good news. I found out a few days ago that I'm pregnant." Cheers and congratulations filled the room. "Now for the bad news... Some of you may have noticed that your horns are starting to grow back. There is a reason for that and the reason is the Condesce. She's coming to earth."

People gasped. Eridan made a soft clearing of his throat noise. "It wwill be alright." he said. "Wwe havve wworked together for so long noww... I knoww wwe can really step up to the plate and beat this." he smiled.

"How exactly are we supposed to take down a Subjugglator?" Terezi asked.

"That's where I come in. I'm related to them... I'm the purple prince and I'll use that." Gamzee said softly.

"What about the drones?" Kanaya asked.

"I will handle those." Feferi said.

Eridan smiled a little. "As for other things. I'm sure Vvris and I can break out our pirate brigade again and go hunting." he smiled.

Vriska nodded, wringing her hands in her lap. "Yeah. I can do that."

"Plus Aradia still has her powers!" Feferi said. "Equius is still strong and I know Nepeta has her claws."

"Sollux's psionics still work and Kar has been in boxing plus has his sickle. We'll be fine if we work together." Gamzee said.

"Y-Yeah!" Tavros said, speaking up. "A-And Gamzee is still really strong too." he smiled.

"And what about you cripple?" Vriska spat. "You have poor Gamzee carrying you around."

Gamzee stood, hitting the table with his fist. "Don't fucking talk to Tav like that." He glared at the blue-blood.

"Gamzee..." Feferi said quietly.

Eridan looked at Vriska. "Vvris be nice. Evveryone needs to be supportivve and stuff." he said, sighing. "We havve to stay strong."

"We can do this you guys!" Feferi smiled. "I know we can but we just need to at least try to get along." She looked pointedly at Vriska and Gamzee. "Sollux will be back in a few days and has told Gamzee that he'll explain everything he saw to me."

Eridan nodded. "Wwe can do this." he smiled.

Gamzee nodded.

"Now that everyone has been informed, let's continue our Christmas activities." Feferi smiled. "Who wants dessert?"

Several people raised their hands. "I'll get it." Eridan said, getting up, bringing in the carrot cake.

"I thought you said you were making brownies!" Gamzee protested. "I was looking forward to some motherfucking brownies!"

"Theres browwnies in there too, Gam." he said, smiling. "Relax." he set the cake down, before coming back with a plate of brownies. "See?"

"Hell yes!" Gamzee smiled widely. "Do you want a brownie Tav?"

Tavros nodded. "Yeah." he said, smiling.

Gamzee pulled two brownies off the plate, handing one to Tavros before shoving his in his mouth. He moaned at the taste. "Mmmmm"

"I'm glad you like my brownies Gamzee." Feferi smiled. "Karkat actually sent me that recipe!"

Tavros smiled. "Karkat is an amazing cook." he said, grinning.

Gamzee smiled and nodded. "Well, the fucker is going to cooking school in motherfucking Paris!"

Tavros grinned. "Yeah."

The night went on and presents were handed out. Eridan and Feferi had gotten everyone a little something.

Gamzee had drawn Nepeta's name at the drawing. He handed her the present. "Here Nepeta!" He smiled as she opened it.

"Oh my gog! Look Equius! It's a cat toy! It's purrfect Gamzee!" She smiled at him.

Tavros had drawn Vriska, which had been the hardest thing to do ever. He had found a few things, but finally decided on a few beanie babies shaped like adorable looking spiders.

"You didn't do too bad Tavros." She smiled softly.

Tavros smiled a little. "I really couldn't uh... Think of anything." he said, "So I thought those would work."

Gamzee smiled, pulling Tavros close. "We need to get going. I still have to call Sollux back..."

Kanaya smiled, "You havent gotten your gifts yet." she handed Gamzee a neatly wrapped present. Inside was a scarf she had made with purple and black in the stitching. She smiled. "I hope you like it."

"This is mother fucking awesome!" Gamzee held up the scarf. "How does it look Tav?" He smiled putting it on."

"Here's yours Tavros!" Feferi smiled handing him a box. Inside was a book of fairy tales.

Tavros smiled, "It looks wonderful." he smiled. He took the box from Feferi. He gasped when he looked at the book. "W-Wow" he gasped, looking through it. "T-Thank you!"

Feferi smiled. "I'm glad you like it!"

Gamzee stood, wrapping Tavros in his jacket before picking him up. "We'll see you guys later!" He smiled, waving with his free hand.

Tavros smiled and waved, pulling the blanket over him. "Bye everyone." he grinned and smiled when they left. "That was fun."

"It was." Gamzee smiled, opening the car door for Tavros. "So did you enjoy your day of being taken care of?"

Tavros smiled brightly. "I did." he said, sitting down in the seat of the car, pulling his seatbelt on.

Gamzee smiled. "Good. That makes me happy."

They drove back home. Tavros had fallen asleep in the passenger seat, his head resting against the window as they pulled back into the apartment complex.

"Tav..." He shook his shoulder gently. "We're home." Gamzee smiled, deciding to not wake Tavros up. He undid his seat belt and wrapped the blanket further around him before getting out of the car and running over to the passenger side. He started to open the door, holding Tavros up with one of his arms. 'Gently now Gamzee.' He told himself as he lifted Tavros and their presents out of the seat and carefully carrying them into the apartment.

Tavros breathed against him softly, his breathing even. He shifted only just slightly as he was carried into the apartment.

Gamzee sat him down on the bed, quickly trading Tavros' cold clothes for warm pajamas before stripping himself of all but his boxers and crawling in bed with Tavros. "I'll call him in the morning."

Tavros loosely draped his arms over Gamzee's stomach, snuggling into the warmth. He nuzzled his chest in his sleep, whimpering quietly as he shifted.

Gamzee fell asleep quickly, curled around Tavros. If he dreamed, he didn't remember when he woke up, his phone ringing. "Hello?"

"Dick you forgot to call me." Sollux said into the phone, his voice sounding a little bit irritated.

"Sorry. Passed out with Tav as soon as we got home..." Gamzee yawned. "Everything went well. They officially announced Feferi being pregnant and what's going on with the Condesce."

"Ahhhh." Sollux said. "Well. The thituation with the imageth and the thoughtth ithn't getting any better." he said, frowning. "I think thomeone ith trying to tell me thomething."

"You need to call Feferi at a reasonable time here and talk to her about what you're seeing." Gamzee said. "How's Kar? Is he still freaking out?"

"KK ith doing better." he said, leaning back on him. "I'm reathuring him all the time. Trying to enjoy my latht few dayth here." he said, smiling.

Karkat wrapped his arms tighter around Sollux's waist. He had woken up from their nap by a horrible nightmare. "Fuck you."

"Hi Kar!" Gamzee said into the phone. "I'm going to go. Tav is still asleep and I'm tired as hell."

"Get thome more theleep." he said softly, his voice a little hoarse. "I'm not looking forward to the plane ride home." he said.

"When do you come back anyways?" Gamzee asked.

"Uh... Next... Monday I think." he said softly, having to had think about it for a moment. He smiled and leaned back against Karkat. "Tho how ith Tav doing?"

"He's asleep right now. It's like 4 in the morning here. He's really tired and the news of the invasion isn't helping his stress level." Gamzee said softly. "He's been acting really needy lately, not that I mind but it's got me a little worried."

"Yeah. I've been having troubleth thleeping mythelf." he said, frowning.

Karkat kissed Sollux's cheek gently.

"I hope everything's okay..." Gamzee said softly, running his hand through Tavros' hair. "Well, I'm going to go back to bed. Go cuddle with Kar. Gog knows he probably needs it."

"Yeah. He doeth." he smiled and gently rested his head against Karkat's chest. "Mmm... I'll let you go now. Take care."

"Bye!" Gamzee hung up the phone, curling back up with Tavros and falling back asleep.

* * *

><p>Karkat sighed. He hadn't slept since Sollux had woken him up at 3 in the morning the night before. "Are you hungry?"<p>

"A little." he said softly, his smile fading a little. "I'm very thleepy."

"Then sleep, baby." Karkat said softly, kissing the top of his head.

"I will." he said, closing his eyes , laying down. "Nnn..." he said softly. "KK... Kith me."

Karkat smiled softly, leaning down and kissing his matesprit gently. Pulling back he said, "Go to sleep Sollux."

Sollux smiled, curling up in bed as he fell back asleep again.

Karkat curled up with him, hoping that when he closed his eyes he wouldn't see the face of a culling drone covered in yellow blood.

Sollux for once slept pretty decently, waking up a few hours later with a splitting headache. His horns were almost completely visible from behind his hair now. He held his head, wincing in pain.

Karkat still couldn't sleep. "Morning love." He kissed by one of Sollux's growing horns before moving his hands up to gently rub the area.

Sollux winced. "Nnn..." he said, holding the sides of his head. "My head hurtth..." he whispered, shivering as Karkat touched him.

"The bottle of Excedrin is still on the side table." Karkat said softly.

Sollux felt his stomach gurgle slightly. "I don't know... I feel thick." he cringed, feeling the pain get worse. He heard a crack as the horns moved slighly longer. "F-Fuck... Ow..."

Karkat's eyes widened. He had heard the crack from Sollux's before a similar one came from his. He screamed in pain for his horns hadn't been growing as fast as Sollux's.

Sollux whimpered, curling up into as tight of a ball as possible. He dreaded feeling this pain. He wondered how the others were putting up with it. He cringed painfully, gripping Karkat's arm before the pain dulled to a sore throbbing.

"Sollux... It hurts..." Karkat whimpered. "So much..."

Sollux rolled over, his eyes still shut as he wrapped his arms around Karkat tightly. "I know... I know..." he whispered, his voice soft.

Karkat could feel his horns pushing up through his head. He gingerly ran a hand over them, feeling that they would show through his hair. "Fuck..."

Sollux whimpered. "I don't know how I'm going to get away... With thith." he said, feeling his horns almost back to their size before they left. "It hurtth."

Karkat nodded before whimpering again as his horns pushed out further. "Sollux..."

"KK..." he opened his eyes slightly, looking at him, smiling a little. "Itth gonna be okay." he said, holding him close. "Jutht let them."

Karkat nodded softly, feeling them stop for a moment before rubbing the skin around them gently. When he pulled his hand away, dark indigo covered them. "What the fuck?"

Sollux gasped. "KK..." he pushed back away from him a bit. "Your blood..."


	32. Chapter 32

"Why is it purple?" Karkat couldn't believe what was on his hand. "I'm not a fucking highblood though!"

"KK... You... Your blood mutht have changed...Thomehow. I... I don't know how." he whispered, biting his lip. He touched where his horns were growing in. He pulled his hand away, finding the yellow substance to be almost sickening.

Karkat couldn't think straight. Why was his blood now purple? Did that mean that he was a highblood? He looked over at Sollux, seeing the familiar yellow blood. "Sollux..."

Sollux felt...almost a bit jealous. "KK... You... You..." he felt tears stream down his cheeks, staining his still pale skin yellow. "Yo-You can protect me..."

"Apparently..." Karkat mumbled, still looking at his hand. "Give me the phone..."

He handed him the phone.

Karkat dialed Feferi and Eridan's number.

"Hello?" Feferi said very quietly.

"My blood is purple and I don't know what to do." Karkat said quickly.

"Karkat? But your blood is grey..." She said.

"And now it's purple!" He sighed. "What do I do?"

Eridan picked up the phone, blinking as he rubbed his eyes. "Wwhat the hell Kar, its like glubbin 7:30 am..." he grumbled. "Wwhats purple?"

"Eridan... My blood is purple... Darker than Gamzee's but obviously purple..." Karkat said, running a hand through his hair as he got off the bed and started pacing the room. "I can't be a fucking highblood..."

"It's possible." Eridan began, coughing a little away from the phone. "That wwhatevver vvirus you had that made your blood that redish color, is gone and its revvealin your true colors so to speak."

"AND WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO ABOUT BEING A HIGHBLOOD?" Karkat yelled. "I DON'T FUCKING KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BEING A HIGHBLOOD!"

"Ask Gamzee." he said, shrugging his shoulders. "You forget that wwe wwere royalty. Wwe're still different from you Kar." he said, yawning very obviously on accident. "He wwill be able to tell you more about bein a highblood and stuff, don't you agree Fef?"

"We could still help him Eri... He called us for a reason.." She said softly. "We all know that Gamzee wasn't raised like a highblood..."

"True." he said, frowning. "Wwell... I mean... There's not a lot of differences...besides being higher up in the caste... You can own slavves and stuff." he frowned. "At least that was a long time ago."

"So there is nothing really special about me besides now I have power? Is that right?" Karkat asked, confused. No wonder Sollux was acting like this... Fuck... He hoped that their relationship wouldn't change.

"Highbloods are vvery... Strong. You havve good communication skills for calming people down and shit." he grinned. "I'vve seen it before. I think that might be your powwer." he smiled. "You might get stronger... I don't knoww. It's good havving another highblood wwith us."

"Okay..." Karkat was still worried. Sollux hadn't said anything since he saw the blood on his hands. "I'm just... really worried..."

"Is Sol actin wweird?" He asked.

"Yes..." Karkat said softly, not thinking about the fact that his matesprit could read his mind. "He's acting like it's a fucking blessing or something... He said that I can protect him... I don't know what's going on.."

"He's a lowwblood. Highbloods as you knoww probably already, don't like lowwbloods. Look at Eq for example. He hates the idea. Gam is different. He lovves Tavv and Tavv lovves him." he smiled. "You lovve Sol, and Sol lovves you. Shorely you can wwork somethin out. Especially if big old mean Condesce is comin, she respects us highbloods, but hates lowwbloods. Use your social stature to your advvantage."

"I won't be culled? Wait... I won't be culled..." Karkat came to realization that the new found color of his blood not only could be used to protect Sollux but himself as well.

"Nope." he said quietly. "If shes feelin nice that is."

Karkat fell to his knees, translucent purple streaking across his cheeks. "I can't believe it..."

Eridan smiled. "Does that make you happy?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"You have no idea." Karkat said softly. "Thanks Eridan... Tell Feferi I said thanks too."

"Wwill do." he said, hanging up the phone.

Sollux curled up in the bed, his hands holding themselves over his head where his horns were.

Karkat turned to face the bed. "Sollux?"

Sollux looked up at him, "y-Yeah?"

"You okay love?" Karkat asked standing and walking back over to the bed. "You look scared shitless..."

"I am." he whispered, his voice quiet and almost unaudible.

"Why?" Karkat sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing Sollux's arm. "You have no reason to be scared."

"I jutht... Ith my inthtinct." he whispered, looking at him with sad eyes. "I've been afraid of highbloodth all my life." he said, "But you're my matethprit... And nothing can change that." he smiled weakly, sitting up.

"Sollux..." Karkat whimpered. He kinda wished that he still had his red blood. 'Then he wouldn't be scared of me...' He thought to himself.

Sollux sat up, pulling Karkat close, kissing him gently.

Karkat kissed him back. It was weird to know that Sollux was lower on the spectrum that he was now. "I love you."

"I love you too." he whispered. "I don't know how in the world we're going to get away... With getting me home when I have hornth like thith."

"Hats are magical things. Be glad you don't have horns like Tav or Gam. Then we would be really fucked." Karkat laughed a little. "Does it bother you that much? That my blood is purple now?"

"No." he said softly. "It doethn't."

'Bullshit. You're shaking...' Karkat thought. "Okay..." He whispered. "I wonder how everyone else is going to react."

"I'm okay with it KK, really." he snuggled against him, his eyes drooping closed. "I thwear."

Karkat sighed. "Okay." He said softly wrapping his arms around Sollux. "I'm just scared." 'That our relationship is going to change because of this...'

"It won't." he said, hugging him closely. "It won't change."

"Good." Karkat said softly. "I don't want it to."

The pair laid together most of the day. They watched shitty movies and curled up and ate food. By the time night rolled around, the pair curled up in their bed. Sollux awoke in the middle of the night, walking into the bathroom to relieve himself. He looked in the mirror as he washed his hands before screaming, covering his mouth with his hands.

Karkat who had only been asleep for a couple hours jolted upright. "Sollux?" He got up and went to the bathroom, stopping in the doorway. "What the fuck?"

Sollux was staring at himself in the mirror. His eyes had returned to their brightness. His skin was flushed a pale shade of gray, his hands shook as he peered at the fangs that poked from his lips. "W-Why... Wh-why..."

Karkat looked down at his arms, seeing them flushed a pale gray as well. "This... Sol, move for a second." Karkat looked in the mirror peering at his teeth. "Oh gog.."

They had returned to looking almost identical to how they looked on Alternia. "K-KK what do I do? What do we do?"

"I don't fucking know..." Karkat whimpered. "Does this mean she's close? Oh gog... No... I don't want to be culled..." He put his hands on his temples, forgetting that he was now high on the hemospectrum

Sollux sighed quietly. "I... I don't know. I withh you could come back with me..."

"Me too..." Karkat whimpered, sitting on the bathroom floor. 'I don't want to be culled... I don't want to die... I don't want you to leave...' He thought over and over again.

"KK..." he nudged him with his foot. "Fucking highblood." he said, glaring at him. "Get a hold of yourthelf."

"Highblood?" Karkat asked, looking up at Sollux. "I'm not a... Oh wait... I am..." Memories rushing past his fear. "Sorry..."

Sollux sighed, "Ith fine." he grumbled, feeling grouchy. Sleep is what he needed, and it was what he wasn't getting. "KK..." he slumped to the floor outside the bathroom. "What happenth when Chrith cometh back?"

"Chris knows... I forgot to tell you... Sorry... He saw some of the pictures that I have of you from Alternia." Karkat mumbled. "He'll be confused but will help."

Sollux nodded, going back into the bedroom, laying down. "My head hurtth tho bad..." he grumbled.

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux. "I love you." He whispered. "So much. Troll or human, it doesn't matter. As long as we're together, we're fine."

Sollux nodded, sighing. "Thith ith almotht embarrathing ath hell..." he grumbled. "I feel like... I don't know. I'll be thamed when I go back. I feel like I'll have to hide now..."

"It won't matter when the Condesce gets here... She'll have Subjugglators and culling drones. The only thing we'll have to worry about is making sure people know that we aren't trying to help them." Karkat said softly, drifting in and out of sleep. "I hope I can sleep tonight..."

"Yeah... Thame." he said quietly, yawning widely. "Gog thith... Ugh." he curled up with Karkat, trying not to poke him with his horns. He fell into a deep sleep, his mind racing as visions plauged him.

Karkat ended up not being able to sleep for he was brushing his fingers through Sollux's hair and whispering sweet words to him as he slept. "It's okay love. I'm here." He whispered.

Sollux twitched and whispered things in his sleep. Behind his eyelids, his eyes were moving friverously. Something was happening.

_Sollux had returned to the US on the day he was told to. His head was covered in a warm toboggan, fashioned to cover his horns. His skin was covered in makeup cream and sealed in. He was thankful Chris' girlfriend was good at that sort of thing as he went on his way to go get on the plane. Once back home, Gamzee picked him up and brought him back. _

_It seemed like 2 months had passed and Karkat was being released early. _

_It was the next day, the day of the plane ride home. Sollux turned on the TV to check the weather...and all the channels were flashing the same thing. "Obey. Obey. O-bey." Sollux turned the TV off, rubbing his eyes. Suddenly he heard a huge roar from outside. "Oh no..." he whispered, running out to look. A massive red and white ship had intered the orbit. Flames from entry surrounded it. _

_Slowly it entered, hovering high up in the atmosphere as a smaller ship came rushing down, heading across the sky faster than anything he had ever seen. The Condesce had arrived. He checked the TV again, seeing that the news stations had taken to covering what was happening. The smaller ship was heading faster than any military office could track. It headed across the world to Europe. Karkat was surely on the plane by now. Sollux cringed, whimpering at the thought. "KK... No pleathe be on the plane... Pleathe call me... Pleathe tell me you're here..." he watched in horror as the smaller ship made its way to London. _

_What seemed like hours had passed. No sign of Karkat. No sign of much of anything. The ship had landed and was surrounded by military. They had been given the order to shoot if things got out of hand. Words scrawled across the screen of the front of the ship. It was clearly written in alternian and then again in English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese... Hundreds and hundreds of languages scrolled across the screen. "We come in peace." _

_"Bullthit." Sollux grumbled. The front of the ship opened slowly. _

_As slowly as the door opened, a busty woman wearing a skintight suit made of gog knows what, walked out from the ship, her horns nearly touching the doorway as she walked from out of the way of the ship, coming into the light, her hair dragging the ground behind her. A man ... A slave dressed in all black with a headcloak on followed her out, his horns almost as big as hers. "A king and queen..." he whispered, staring at the screen in disbelief. People stared in horror. Their skin was gray, flushed with a magenta color around their eyes. Their eyes were bright yellow, showing exactly what everyone had feared. They were indeed Trolls from Alternia. Sollux had been right. He cringed at the thought as they stepped forward. People stepped away as they walked towards the castle. A military officer stepped up and tried to stop them. The Condesce stared down at him, her eyes flashing as he stepped away, the man's eyes filled with utmost fear. The pair dissappeared into the palace of the British queen and king. Sollux fumbled for his telephone. Another horrendusly loud noise was heard. The TV flashed "Obey Obey. Submit to culling. Submit. Submit." Sollux gasped, looking out the window as hundreds upon thousands of ships entered the atmosphere. Screams were heard. What was happening? Sollux gasped, grabbing his phone and trying to dial Karkat. No use. His phone wasn't making calls. He cringed, getting up and grabbing clothes, throwing them on before running outside. He didn't care. His skin was greyer than it had ever been, his horns exposed, his hair messy. He ran out, looking up into the sky as the smaller ships flooded the sky, almost obscuring the sun. They were headed towards England... Heading to their queen. Sollux ran out into the street, looking around wildly. Nothing. People were running out into the streets screaming. Mass chaos had broken. He ran back to the apartment complex. He headed up the stairs and ran blindly to his apartment but before he could get there he ran headfirst into something big and hard and fell back onto the ground, losing consciousness._


	33. Chapter 33 TW: Implied Rape

**{{TRIGGER WARNING: Implied Rape}}**

* * *

><p>Sollux awoke with a blood curtling scream.<p>

"Shhhhhhh. It's okay. I'm here. It's okay." Karkat whispered, rubbing Sollux's back. "I'm here baby. I'm here." He kissed his forehead. "You're safe."

Sollux panicked, his breathing fast and irratic. He shook violently. "N-No... No... No no no no no!" he gasped out, his hands finding his head. "NO!" he felt Karkat's hands on him. He couldn't see Karkat in the dark. Everything was fuzzy and dark. Had he gone blind? No...He couldn't have. His mind was racing. "No... No... No no no..." his hands gripped the sides of his head. "No..." The voices of the future were ranting in his head. "Obey." they said. "Submit." it was repeating the images on TV, speaking of world domination and mass killing sprees. Was this the end? Was this how it was really going to be? He shivered at the thought, his nails digging into the sides of his head. He couldn't hear Karkat's voice anymore. The voices in his ears were too loud, shouting. He screamed again, his eyes shutting tightly as he shook, his mind slowly coming back to reality as his pulse slowed.

Karkat pulled him close, running his fingers through Sollux's hair and rubbing his back. "Sollux! Look at me! Gog fucking dammit!" Karkat winced as Sollux screamed again. "Baby! Please! Look at me!" He said into Sollux's ear. Karkat closed his eyes, sighing softly. Visions of culling drones covered in the mustard yellow that he loved so much filled his mind. Karkat slipped his fingers under Sollux's hands, pulling the nails from his head as he covered the areas with his hands. He looked down at the still shaking Sollux. "I'll keep you safe." He whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you. Ever." He knew that Sollux didn't mean to dig his nails into his hands. He winced when he saw the now dark purple of his blood but he kept moving his fingers in slow circles in Sollux's hair, trying desperately to calm his distraught lover. "I promise you Sollux. I won't let anything bad happen. I'll be your Signless."

Sollux whimpered and slowly calmed down, his body shivering and his mind becoming muddled with thoughts and memories. He clung to Karkat for dear life, his hands still shaking. He felt tears streaming down his cheeks. "K-Karkat..." he whispered, his hands shaking.

Karkat kissed the top of Sollux's head. "It's okay baby. I'm here." He whispered, cupping Sollux's face in his hands and tilting it up so their gazes met. "I love you and I will keep you safe." Karkat made small circles at the base of his horns. "It's okay."

Sollux nodded slowly, his eyes big and filled with watery yellow tears. "I... I hate thith KK..." he whispered, touching his face. He could feel his tongue brushing against the sides of his fangs. It stung a little.

"I know. But we'll get through this." Karkat said quietly. "It's going to be interesting trying to cook with these fucking claws... Human cooking tools aren't meant for them..." He sighed. "But that doesn't really matter right now because I have a Sollux who needs lots of cuddles and kisses." He smiled down, kissing his love's forehead gently.

Sollux nodded, his hands gently touching Karkat's face. "Where are my glatheth? I want to be able to thee you." he said softly.

Karkat reached over Sollux grabbing the red and blue glasses. "Here."

Sollux gently slipped them onto his nose, looking through them. "T-Thank you." he said, his cheeks getting a little yellow.

"I kinda missed seeing you blush yellow..." Karkat smiled. "It's so cute!" He kissed Sollux's cheek, right under the eye.

Sollux looked down. "Yeah..." he said softly. "It... It will take thome getting uthed to... Like me not biting my tongue too." he said, whimpering.

Karkat smiled. "You can do it. You lived like this for most of your life." He cupped his face, bringing their mouths together in a sweet, chaste kiss.

Sollux felt his panic slowly sink. He felt a little better. "KK..." he whispered, taking his mouth again.

Chris walked out of the elevator and back toward the room he shared with Karkat. "Are you decent? If not cover up!" He said before opening the door after a few seconds of standing there.

Karkat pulled away. "We're clothed." He laughed. "Nothing was happening, just kisses."

Chris walked down the small hall before pausing. "What the hell?"

"Oh... We're apparently turning back into trolls."

Sollux hid his face with the blanket, staring blankly at him. "We...we won't hurt you..." he whispered, terrified that he was going to run and hide.

"A little warning would have been nice. Seriously man. I thought you were dressed up for Halloween in December!" Chris laughed. "That's kinda cool though. I know you guys won't hurt me."

Karkat pulled the blanket from Sollux's face. "Did I forget to mention that he thinks it's the coolest thing in the world and is learning to read Alternian..."

Sollux blinked, adverting his eyes. "O-Oh neat." he smiled a little bit, sitting up, letting the blanket slump in his lap. He was wearing one of his shirts and a pair of shorts. He moved his glasses to his lap, rubbing at his eyes.

"Karkat! You didn't mention that Sollux is a Gemini! I am too!" Chris smiled softly.

"I didn't know humans used the zodiac..." Karkat said softly. "Maybe that's why I feel comfortable around you. Anyways, why are you back?"

"Getting some more clothes. I'm going out to dinner with Sophie and her family so I needed my nice clothes." He smiled. Karkat nodded, understanding human dress code for important events.

Sollux sighed softly, getting up. He looked down at his feet. Gray, with yellow toenails, fashioned into points much like his hands. How he sometimes hated being a troll. No wonder they slept in recuperacoons. Nothing to tear up in there...he let out a sigh, the noise soft as he walked to go look outside. "What time ith it?" he asked, frowning, his feet cold against the floor.

"About 5:30." Chris answered. "Which means I have to go. Later guys!"

Karkat waved as Chris left, sitting in a pair of commandeered bee pajama bottoms and his shirt. "Sollux? What's wrong?"

"Ith...going to happen thoon." he said. "I... I'm thcared... That you won't make it back in time... I'm thcared that... That whatever woke me up... Ith out to get me." He let out a shaky sigh.

Karkat got up off the bed, walking over to Sollux and wrapping his arms around him. "I love you."

"I love you too..." he whispered, turning to face him, tears still running down his face. "Karkat Vantath I love you tho much. A-And w-whatever happenth I want you to know that... N-no matter what." He knew the gravity of the situation. He knew what was going to happen...He didn't know the outcome. He didn't know what else... Besides what he heard and saw in his dreams... It worried him. He cringed and let out a sob. He never said Karkat's full name. Never. This time it was serious...and different.

"Sollux..." Karkat looked at him, his eyes wide. Sollux had actually said both his first AND last name. "Sollux Captor. I've never loved anyone besides you and I want you to know that no matter what happens, you'll be the only person that I will ever love." He wrapped his arms around Sollux's waist. Karkat didn't know what was going to happen but he knew that if Sollux wanted him to know how much he was loved then he felt that he should let Sollux know how much he loved him.

"Good." he whispered, holding him close. "I trutht that we can... Really... Do thith." he felt his hands shake.

The last few days of Sollux being in Paris, they spent on dates and having fun. Karkat still couldn't believe that Sollux had levitated them up to the actual top of the Eiffel Tower. With his arms around his lover's waist, he waited until they called for Sollux's plane. "I'm going to miss you so much... I really wish you didn't have to leave..." He said softly, trying to keep the tears at bay. Sophie had been nice enough to help them to look like any other regular human instead of a pair of humans turning into trolls. "I love you so much Sollux..."

Sollux smiled. "I love you too." he said. "Will... Will you promithe me that you will work ath hard ath you can to get home quickly." he said, his voice shaking slightly.

"I promise." Karkat said softly, wrapping his arms around Sollux a little tighter. "Can I... Can I have a kiss?"

Sollux nodded, gently leaning forward, feeling his fangs brush against Karkat's lips as they kissed deeply for a moment.

Karkat brought his arms up to rest on Sollux's shoulders, letting his tongue brush against Sollux's lip.

"Come on you two. Sollux's plane was just called." Chris said, his hand on Karkat's shoulder.

Sollux pulled back, frowning a little. "Aww..." he smiled and gave Karkat one last kiss before stepping back. "KK I love you."

"I love you too fuckass." Karkat smiled. "Call me when you get back to the apartment."

"I will." he got on the plane.

10 hours later he landed and walked out, meeting James. Gamzee had said due to his horns, he couldn't leave. He didn't want to leave. Sollux instead called James to come get him. "Hey." he said once he stepped off the plane.

"Hey. How was France?" James asked. "Glad to be home?"

"Franthe wath awethome." he said, looking at him from behind glasses. "I'm... Very glad to be home." They walked out to James' car. "Thit hit the fan though." he said, pulling the gloves off his hand once they were in the car. His skin was gray and his nails were long and yellow.

"I noticed your teeth earlier." James said. "You guys are returning to your original state? As trolls?"

"Y-Yeah..." he looked down, his eyes worried. "We are... And... And ith thcaring me tho bad." he said quietly.

"That explains why Gamzee and Tavros have been having me pick up groceries for them and shit." James sighed driving down the express way. "I wonder why you guys are changing back."

Sollux swallowed. He wondered if he should tell him. He thought about it very hard before he answered. "Becauthe thomething really... Really bad ith about to happen."

"Like what? Before you answer that, do you want to get some taco bell or something, I'm starving." He asked.

"Yeah." Sollux sighed and rubbed his empty stomach. He had been eating so much it felt weird. It wasn't a bad thing, but he felt better that Karkat wasn't always worried about him.

"Nice necklace by the way. It's both of your signs right?" James asked, getting into the turn lane in front of the Taco Bell. "It suits you two."

"Yeah." he touched it gently. "He made it for me." he smiled. "I..." he felt suddenly sad, remembering the dream that never seemed to finish. "I hope he will make it back... In time."

"I bet he will." James smiled as he drove up to the window. "What do you want to eat? My treat."

"Oh... Uh..." he tapped his chin before giving an order. "I'll get thomething to drink when I get home." he added.

James paid for the food and handed Sollux the bag. "I need that snack wrap, stat." He laughed.

Sollux dug in the bag, handing it to him, trying not to scratch him with his claws. "Here you go."

"I hope you know. Thanks." He said grabbing the food. "I hope you know that whatever it is that's going to happen, I'll help with what I can."

"If by helping you mean running and hiding thomewhere where the droneth won't get you..." he said softly. "T-thath... What I'll be doing."

"Why? You have fucking powers man! I would be using that shit to my advantage!" James said. "I don't run."

"You don't underthtand... I'll tell you when we get to my apartment." he said, digging in the bag for one of his chalupas.

"There is a whole fucking half an hour before we get back to the apartment. Start talking Captor." James said before tearing into the snack wrap.

Sollux sighed, taking the hat off, revealing his horns. "Back a long long long loooong time ago, there wath a group of people that lived before uth. They were called our ancethtorth. Mine wath a powerful pthionic like me. He worked with thith amathing perthon named the Thignleth... That'th KK'th anthethtor." he took a bite of food and swallowed before continuing. "The Thignleth wath killed by a group of highbloodth...people who were part of the hemothpectrum... Who are really high up there. Blue, Purple, and magenta are highbloodth. Anything below that ith conthidered lowbloodth. I'm a low blood." He sighed, taking another bite.

"The hightetht of the high wath a troll printheth named Her Royal Condethe. The wath in control of all the trollth. The Thummoner and the Thignleth thtarted a riot againtht the highbloodth. They bathically were caught and killed. My anthethtor, the Pthionic wath captured by the Condethe and put into thlavery. He drove the thip."

"That sucks but what does that have to do with what is going to happen?" James asked.

"The Condeth uthed my anthethtorth powerth to flee the planet and go ekthplore. The would go and take over other planeth... Finally... I think my anthethtor died. You thee, the Condethe can live forever if the wanted to... But... The ith coming to earth." he swallowed. "The wantth to take over... And cull uth..."

"Cull? You mean kill us?" James asked. "That's fucking creepy man.."

"I... I have prophetic dreamth." he admitted. "Pluth the voiceth that I uthed to hear ath a kid are back... Badly." he said, hearing whispers as he mentioned it. "They all keep thaying the thame thing... Thubmit to culling. Obey."

James looked at him as they pulled into the apartment complex. "Why does she want to kill us?"

"The wanth to get... I don't know. I never dream that far."

"Keep me informed, okay?" He said softly, handing Sollux his hat. "Deal?"

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he said quietly. "I will."

"Thanks." James said softly.

* * *

><p>Weeks passed and Karkat worked his ass off to try and get released early again. Somehow, he managed to accomplish this. Upon invitation from Chris and nagging from Sollux, Karkat agreed to go to a party a couple nights before he was supposed to leave to go back to America. At the party, he drank quite a bit.<p>

"You're cute." A random guy said to him softly.

"And taken." Karkat said, his slur obvious.

"I don't believe that." the man said. Karkat could feel the man's hand moving up his thigh.

"I said no and I am taken. Happily taken." Karkat said before pushing the man away and walking up stair to one of the rooms to calm down. He pulled out his phone and opened a new message. "HEY HONEY BEE. I JUST WANTED TO SAY I LOVE YOU." He sent it, a smile on his lips. He heard the door open behind him. The last thing he saw before darkness was a fist.

Sollux rolled over in bed, his head throbbing. He rubbed his eyes as he grabbed at his phone, reading the text. "Aww..." he said aloud, shifting as he sent a message back. "ii love you two, baby." he sent the message and flopped back down.

Karkat woke up and the room around him was dark. He started to sit up before he was assaulted with mass amounts of pain in his stomach and lower back. Slowly, he reached down to see what the wet stuff on his legs was. "Oh god... I didn't..." Karkat made himself sit up. He examined his body, finding cuts, scrapes and bruises. There was no way that he would have ever slept with someone else besides Sollux... Not willingly at least. "Oh god..." He searched for his phone. He found it and looked at the screen. It showed that he had a message from Sollux. His heart dropped as he read the message. "Why?" He curled himself into the smallest ball he could and cried until he couldn't cry anymore.

Sollux shifted a little, stretching out on the bed. He felt like hadn't slept a wink. He shivered, grabbing the phone and calling Karkat. Maybe he would have words of wisdom for him.

Now his phone was vibrating again. He looked at the screen, his eyes widening as he read Sollux's name. Slowly, Karkat slid his finger across the screen, answering the call. "Hello?"

"Hey KK." he said softly. "You awake?"

"Yeah..." He said softly, trying to mask the fact that he had been crying. "Is something wrong Sollux?"

"No. Jutht can't thleep. You thound thtrethed. You okay?"

"Yeah. Just worried about getting my shit together for the day after tomorrow." He tried to smile. "I miss you so much, love."

"KK..." he smiled into the phone. "I mith you too." he smiled. "I want to cuddle you tho bad right now. I'm tho alone."

"Just a couple more days and I'll be in your arms again." He smiled softly. He could get over this, as long as he had Sollux.

"I with I could jutht... Fly over there." he said, frowning. "That would be cool."

"It would." Karkat nodded. I should tell him... No... He'll think I did it on purpose... It'll be my fault... And he'll leave me.. "I wish you were here right now... I could really use a hug..."

"KK ith everything okay?" he frowned. He could hear whispering in his head from Karkat. It was so quiet though. "Thomething ith wrong ithn't it..."

"I just really miss my love. I'll be fine." Karkat said into the phone as he curled up tighter. "I just can't wait to get home."

Sollux frowned. He knew something was up. He could hear the pain in Karkat's voice. "KK... What happened?" he said sternly, his voice soft.

"NOTHING! I just really miss you and want to come home..." Karkat said. Something told him that Sollux knew he was hurt.

"KK." his voice got a little stronger. He wasn't angry. He wanted to know.

"I'm fine Sollux. Please just stop." Karkat put a little force behind his voice. If he did tell Sollux that he was... He didn't even want to think the word... Sollux would surely blame it all on him and leave him. He shook his head. "I promise. I'm okay."

'Please just stop.' The words echoed in Sollux's head, feeling a bit taken aback. "O-Oh..." he whispered, frowning. "Okay."

"I'm sorry... Please don't be mad..." Karkat said. "I love you. I'm sorry..."

"KK..." Something was wrong... He didn't know what it was.

"I'm sorry but I need to get off of here and get to bed. I have a lot of packing to do tomorrow." Karkat said softly. "I love you."

Sollux nodded. "Alright. Call me in the morning." he said, frowning as he ran his fingers through his hair

"I will. Sollux... Just say it once... Please..." Karkat whimpered. He wanted him to say that he loved him no matter what again.

"Huh?" he blinked. "KK are you thure you're okay? " he bit his lip.

"I'm fine... I just want to hear you say that you love me..." He said softly. "I just wanted to hear it before I go to bed."

"I love you KK. You know that." he frowned. "KK... You'd better call me tomorrow. "

"I will. Thank you. Good night." Karkat said before hanging up the phone. "He's going to leave me..."

Sollux hung up the phone. "He hateth me." he frowned, curling up with the bee pillow.

Two days later, Karkat said his goodbyes to the friends he had made in France. He stayed awake the entire plane ride. He couldn't sleep, no matter how tired he was for two reasons. The first and most important to him at this present time, was that he was so close to seeing Sollux again. The second, the memories… After the hangover had disappeared from his head, he had started to get fragments of memory back. He had woken up that morning to Chris saying that he needed to calm down. Finally, after what felt like forever, the plane landed and the passengers were released. Hurriedly, he grabbed his things and practically flew to the pick up area.  
>"Sollux!" He smiled as he hurried toward his love. "I missed you so much." Karkat smiled as he wrapped his arms around Sollux. He was home. He was safe.<p>

Sollux hugged him tightly, holding onto him. "Mmmm I mithed thith..." His dreams hadn't been correct. There had been a few days difference at least. His mind still was plagued with nightmares, and he looked rough. His skin was painted with makeup that he had purchased. He wore a hat and long sleeves with gloves. He smiled and gently kissed Karkat's face. "Leth go get your luggage."

Karkat nodded. "I missed you so much." They started toward baggage claim, hand in hand. Karkat was temporarily relieved of his nightmarish flashbacks. "I told you I would make it in time!" He smiled up at Sollux.

"I'm glad." he said softly, holding him close as he walked to grab the suitcase off the rack. He smiled. "I'm very glad for that." he said, wheeling the suitcase out to the car. "Mmm... Leth go home."

Karkat smiled, walking out to the car with Sollux. "Chris and Sophie said hi and Chris told me to give you his number. He said he wanted to talk about some stuff."

"Okay." he nodded. "I'll call him later." he smiled and opened the door for Karkat as he threw the suitcase in the trunk. They headed home. "I can't wait to get thith thtupid makeup off."

"I found an awesome face wash to help with that!" Karkat smiled. "They even sell here in America. I want to cuddle so bad!"

"Awethome." he smiled. "I did thith mythelf thith morning." He frowned. "Jameth hath been helping me get grocerieth and thtuff. I really haven't felt like going out." he frowned. "I mithed you..." he pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex.

"Nice but I still prefer you au naturale." Karkat giggled. "I can't wait to get inside! I miss our room!"

Sollux smiled and got out the suitcase before taking it up the stairs. "Mmmm..." he hummed as he unlocked the door, walking inside.

The apartment wasn't horribly messy. Most of the mess was on the couch. Sollux had been sleeping on the couch instead of in the bedroom. There were some papers and stuff scattered around the room, and some dirty dishes in the sink in the kitchen. "Thorry for the methh." he frowned. "I haven't been able to really... Clean."

"It's fine. I'll clean tomorrow." Karkat smiled. "Now, how about we get to cuddling?" He wrapped his arms around Sollux.

Sollux nodded. He walked back into the bedroom, laying down, pulling Karkat with him. He smiled, kissing him gently.

Karkat smiled into the kiss. "I love you."

Sollux smiled back. "I love you too." he whispered, wrapping his arms around him, playing with the hem of his shirt. "Mmm..." he kissed him back deeply, his tongue lapping at his lips, begging for entry.

Karkat parted his lips slightly. Flashbacks started to rush through his mind but he could handle it because he knew it was Sollux and Sollux wouldn't hurt him.

Sollux slipped his tongue inside, his arms slipping a little lower, his hands resting on Karkat's hips. He missed this. He pushed his body close, holding him tightly.

Fear started to creep up Karkat's spine as Sollux pushed closer to him. 'It's Sollux and he won't hurt you. He loves you.' Karkat chanted in his head.

Sollux felt Karkat hesitate, but let his hands slip lower, hooking his thumbs in Karkat's back pockets. He shifted his legs a little so one wrapped around him lightly. He pulled back from the kiss for a moment, looking at him through barely open eyes before kissing his chin and down the side of his neck.

Karkat's eyes widened... "Sollux... Stop..." He whispered, the flashbacks becoming too much for him. "Please..." he said a little louder.


	34. Chapter 34 TW: IMPLIED RAPE

**TRIGGER WARNING: IMPLIED RAPE**

* * *

><p>Sollux pulled back, withdrawing his hands. "H-Huh?" he was completly taken aback. "KK... B-but I thought you wanted thith..."<p>

"Please..." He whispered. "I... I..." He couldn't tell Sollux what had happened to him. "Please don't hate me..." He started to cry, the whole scene looping in his mind. "Please..." He started to cry, every scratch and bruise started to hurt again for none of them were healed. Karkat put his hands on the sides of his head, willing the memory to go away.

Sollux hesitated. "KK...?" he gently reached out and touched his shoulder, looking frightened. "Karkat? H-hey... Ith... Ith gonna be okay... I... I don't hate you... W-whatth wrong?" he didn't know what to do.

Karkat pulled away. "No... If I tell you... You'll hate me..." He scooted back against the wall.

"Karkat..." he let out a small sigh. "Why would I hate you...?" He looked down at his hands. "Karkat I can't hate you. I love you. Even if you did thomething thtupid like kill thomeone I'd thtill love you. You know why? Becauthe you're my matethprit and that'th what you do. I... I don't underthtand... What ith with thith all of a thudden?"

Karkat couldn't speak because if he did, he would tell Sollux what happened. He would blame the whole thing on Karkat and would leave him. He shook his head. He almost wished that Sollux would read his mind to figure it out but then it might really seem like his fault. 'If only I hadn't gone to that stupid party...'

"What happened at the party." It wasn't a question. "Karkat tell me." he said, his voice suddenly really serious. It wasn't an angry serious, but a very concerned serious. His face showed genuine concern.

He wrapped his arms around his knees, pulling them close as he let the flashback fill his mind. All the screaming and begging for the man to just leave him alone and begging for Sollux to help him. 'Can you see them?' He asked mentally.

Sollux shook his head. "I don't know what you want me to thee..." He sat and concentrated hard. His powers flared, making the room smell a bit like static electricty.

Then he saw them. The images of screaming, begging, pain. He gasped, opening his eyes and looking at Karkat. "O-... Oh my gog..." he whispered. "K-Karkat..." He felt tears start at the corners of his eyes. "N-No..." he reached out to him. "Baby... Baby, come here..." he reached for him, hoping Karkat would come to him.

"Please don't hate me... I didn't want it! I swear!" Karkat cried out, shaking with fear. "Please..." He couldn't move. "I'm sorry..."

Sollux crawled over to him. "KK... I'm not mad... I don't hate you." he whispered, gently wrapping his arms around Karkat. "Pleathe don't hit me." he begged quietly. "I jutht want to hold you."

Karkat nodded, leaning his head on Sollux's shoulder. "I'm sorry... I just... I'm still scratched up and covered in bruises." Karkat whispered. "I thought you would think I had a kismesis or something and hate me..."

"Karkat, why in gogth name would I hate you for even having a kithmethith. Even if you did I would be fine with it." he frowned. "You let me have one... And you were okay with it." he sighed quietly, and touched his hair, running his fingers through it. Sometimes he wished he was better at shoosh papping.

"No, I wasn't... I did that for you..." Karkat admitted. "I hate the thought of you touching anyone else... I thought you would think that I didn't want to be with you and that you would hate me for it..."

Reality set in, sinking to the pit of Sollux's stomach. "W-Why didn't you tell me you didn't like it and I wouldn't have!" he felt a small surge of anger. He couldn't stay mad for long at Karkat. The poor dear just had a massive emotional and physical pain put upon him. He let out a ragged sigh, wrapping his arms around him, holding him close.

"I only said yes because I know you still think in quadrants... And there's your obsession with duality..." Karkat said softly, wrapping his arms around Sollux. "I'm sorry that I'm such a bad matesprit..."

"KK will you thtop thaying that you're a bad matethprit?" he felt his hand clench into a fist on Karkat's back. "You're not. Thome athole did thtith to you. I want to make them pay, but I can't." he said quietly, frowning.

Karkat looked up at Sollux, his eyes wide and full of fear. "Sollux... Can I ask you to do something for me?"

"Yeah." he said, gently touching his face. "Don't look tho thcared..." he whispered, frowning. "Ith making me thad..."

"I want you to kiss me... Like you did earlier. But just keep your hands on my shoulders." Karkat said softly.

Sollux nodded. He used a hand to gently tilt Karkat's head up, bringing his lips to Karkat's, his hands gently resting on Karkat's shoulders. He flicked his tongue across Karkat's lips.

Karkat shivered at the contact but let his matesprit continue. He wanted Sollux to kiss him but going further than that scared the hell out of him. "Mmmm." He hummed, starting to relax. He grabbed Sollux's hands and put them around his waist. 'Okay... This is good.'

Sollux rested his hands there, keeping a good bit of distance between their bodies.

Karkat pulled back for a minute, bringing himself closer to Sollux before claiming his mouth again. He had missed the sweet kisses of his love but his mind still told him to run. 'No! I will not run. It's Sollux and he loves me. Stupid head!' He yelled at himself.

Sollux could read every thought. He hesitated, but moved his hands back to Karkat's hips. He didn't want to ruin this.

'I'm okay...' He thought. 'Just no further for now...' Karkat kept thinking about how much he loved Sollux and made himself remember the one time that Sollux ever said his full name. 'I love you Honey Bee.'

He pulled back for a moment. "I love you too Karkat Vantath." he smiled before gently pushing his lips against his again. "Mmmm..." he missed this. He missed this so much.

'Holy shit! That's twice!' Karkat couldn't help but feel... overjoyed at the fact that Sollux had used his first and last name. That gave him an idea that he would have to research later. 'Pull me closer... Please...'

Sollux smiled, gently pulling him closer, his hands still resting on his hips. "Nn..." he felt Karkat rub against him slightly.

Karkat was okay with this, even though he had thought that he wouldn't be. It strangley comforted him to know that Sollux was there and taking things step by step with him. 'I'm sorry... I know how much you want it...'

Sollux grumbled a little, shifting his hips as he kissed him deeply. He didn't care. If this is what Karkat needed, he was fine with that. He'd find... Other ways... Somehow. He still hadn't gotten reaquainted with his anatomy.

Karkat shifted so he could wrap his legs around Sollux. 'Is this okay?'

Sollux nodded. "Mmm." he hummed, pulling back for a minute. "KK?" he looked up at him. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice soft.

Karkat looked down at him, his face a weird dark purple. Weird because he still wasn't used to this. He nodded. 'I'm fine since you're here. I know you won't hurt me.' He thought.

Sollux smiled a little. "Good." he said, his cheeks flushing yellow. "I... I don't want to take thingth too fatht if you don't want to." he said.

Karkat smiled a little. 'I would tell you if it was scaring me.' He kissed Sollux gently. 'I think most of my problem was thinking you would hate me...'

"I can't hate you KK." he said softly, smiling as he reached up. "Mmm... Kith me."

Karkat smiled, pushing him down while shifting onto his knees. He laughed a little. 'I win!' He thought before leaning down and kissing Sollux deeply.

Sollux smiled. He liked this. He kissed him back deeply, his hands slowly moving to his back, gently rubbing it. He wanted it to be a comforting gesture.

Karkat wrapped his fingers in Sollux's hair. 'You're delicious... Hehehe.' He gently ran his tongue over Sollux's bottom lip.

Sollux whimpered and parted his lips. In his mind something clicked. He felt a shiver of pleasure run over him. A Highblood over a Lowblood. Somehow that really turned him on. Damn sexual frustration.

'If this goes further... I want you on top...' Karkat thought, knowing Sollux would hear him. 'Lowblood dominating a Highblood. Hehehe.'

Sollux's cheeks flushed bright yellow. He felt Karkat's teeth brush against his lip. "Nnn..." he breathed, gently biting Karkat's lip.

Karkat felt his heart start to race at the simple gesture. He knew that Sollux wanted him and his remembering of the incident was fading fast with each kiss from Sollux. Karkat pulled Sollux up by his shoulders, so that Sollux was sitting up but he was still straddling him.

Sollux moaned slightly, letting his hands fall to the side as he leaned against the back of the bed. "Mmmm..." he hummed, licking his lips once he pulled back.

Karkat was confused. "What?" He asked tilting his head slightly.

"Nothing." he smiled, pushing his lips against his, his hands going and tangling their fingers into Karkat's hair.

Karkat kept his arms wrapped around Sollux's shoulders. 'I want it...' He thought, his mind a haze of red, yellow and purple.

Sollux pulled away from the kiss for a moment. "Are you thure?" he asked, his eyes wide.

Karkat nodded as he brought their mouths together again. 'I'm positive.'

Sollux let his hands move down Karkat's back, gently resting where they had before. He moved back slightly. "Really?" he asked, his hand slowly moving lower on Karkat's backside.

"Gog dammit Sollux, just touch me already!" Karkat grumbled.

Sollux laughed a little, his hand gently grabbing Karkat's ass. "Mmm... Move off of me and I'll touch you, nookthniffer." he grinned.

Karkat grumbled incoherently but did as he was told, scooting back onto the bed, sitting cross-legged. "I'm off of you. Now get over here."

Sollux moved, crawling across the bed, laying on his stomach as he moved his hands to Karkat's pants, his hands working on the button and zipper.

Karkat watched him as his fingers move quickly. 'I'm not used to you actually taking your time to undress me... This is new.' He chuckled as he thought it.

"Itth like I thaid." he smiled. "I don't want you to freak on me." he smiled, slowly opening up his pants. "Lemme take them off." he said, moving them down Karkat's hips.

"Honestly... This is kinda hot..." Karkat laughed a little to hide his embarassment. He was glad that Sollux had to actually concentrate to see the images in his head.

Sollux worked the pants off his hips, revealing a skinny pair of gray legs with some boxers. He pulled the boxers down, revealing Karkat to him entirely. "Mmm~" he grinned, moving his head close, licking the edge of where his bonebulge was hiding. "Heh."

"Ah." Karkat moaned, tilting his head back. "Do that again!"

Sollux licked it again, smiling. "Mmm~" he moved his hand up, sliding a finger into his nook.

'Ohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuck. So good.' Karkat screamed in his head. Even when they were on Alternia, Sollux had never acted like this. The sheath of the bonebulge was a lot more sensitive than any part of a troll or human body.

Sollux laughed a little, adding another finger to the nook, his tongue lapping gently at the sheath. "Mmm~" he hummed, grinning.

"More..." Karkat whimpered, his mind moaning the word with his mouth. He could feel the sheath opening as Sollux licked at it softly.

Sollux grinned, leaning forward, his lips gently touching the opening. He let a part of his tongue slip inside what was there for a moment before retracting. He didn't want to have his tongue sliced if it snapped shut. He moved his fingers around in his nook, lapping at the sheath.

It had been three longs years since he had felt this kind of stimulation and he had never realized how much he missed it. Maybe being a troll again isn't a bad thing... He pushed against the fingers, the sheath opening further as his bonebulge started to emerge.

Sollux smirked. "Karkat." he said, kissing the inside of his thigh. "Mmm..." he grinned, licking up the inside of his thigh, back to the sheath where he made a soft sucking noise against the flesh.

"Stop fucking teasing me!" Karkat glared at him. "Fuck... Please... Hurry..."

Sollux grinned, removing his fingers from his nook. He used his fingers and gently pried open where his bonebulge was, letting it slither out. "Wow.." he looked down at it. He was used to seeing it as being red, but before him stood a deep purple. He undressed himself, coaxing his own bonebulges out, feeling them slip from his body. "Nnn..." he scooted over Karkat, his hand gently on his cheek. "Are you thure you want thith?"

"FUCKING HELL SOLLUX! YOU CAN READ MY FUCKING MIND!" Karkat said. All that ran through his mind was the sounds of Sollux's moans and burning desire, commands that he would love to give but always forgot as soon as Sollux touched him.

Sollux laughed a little, moving over him, feeling his bulges entwine as he slipped into Karkat's nook, gasping out. It felt amazing. He hadn't experienced this in a long... Long time. He groaned, pushing in deep, letting the natural lubrication do the work.

"Oh gog..." Karkat moaned arching his back into Sollux's thrusts, running his claws down his lover's back. His mind blanked on anything he could have wanted for Sollux to do to him in that moment. Karkat leaned up, kissing and nipping at Sollux's neck, leaving yellow spots on the grey skin.

Sollux held him close to him, gently thrusting in and out. His hand found Karkat's bonebulge and he stroked it gently, his hand becoming covered in purple genetic material

Karkat pulled away from his neck a little, his hot breath washing over Sollux's ear. "I want you to be rough with me..." Karkat thrust his hips up, taking Sollux deeper.

Sollux panted slightly. He nodded and thrust harder into Karkat, shaking the bed.

Karkat moaned loudly, moving his hips with Sollux's. He let his nails gently run down Sollux's arms.

Sollux grunted and slammed into him again and again. Somehow this was a LOT easier than having sex as a human. He grumbled as he fumbled his hand over Karkat's bonebulge.

'I wonder how he would react if I bite his shoulder...' Karkat thought somehow. He didn't understand how he could think even partially coherently when his body was filled with this much pleasure.

"Bite me." he said, looking at him, whimpering as he thrust deeper, feeling his bonebulges seperate, moving independently. "Fuck I mithed thith."

Karkat screamed with the seperation of the two bonebulges before biting down on Sollux's shoulder. His tongue moved over the wounds after he pulled away. 'So much better than as humans.'

He groaned thrusting deeper as he moved his hand over Karkat's body. "Nnn..."

"How do you feel knowing that I'm a highblood and you're on top?" Karkat asked between thrusts. 'Gog this is the most amazing thing ever!'

Sollux hesitated for a moment, letting his bulges move around a bit. "Mmmm... Ith really hot." he said, his cheeks flushing. "Nnnhhh..." he hummed. "I like the idea." he grinned.

'I bet you have a total superiority complex now don't you...' Karkat thought in a mumble as he nibbled and licked against Sollux's neck. Something about the other troll was so... The only word that could describe it was delicious. It was sweet like honey but savory at the same time.

"Nnn..." He grunted as he started moving again, gently biting down on Karkat's shoulder, "Damn thtraight." he said, grinning as he licked the wound clean.

"And I am completely okay with that. Do you want me to call you master?" Karkat laughed a little before he was shut up by Sollux's lips against his. 'Doesn't answer my question.'

Sollux pulled back, grumbling. "No." he said. "I'm fine with you calling me by who I am." he grinned, and thrust hard.

"Sollux!" Karkat cried out. "Fuck! Harder!"

Sollux moaned and pushed as hard as he could into Karkat, moaning with every move. "Nngh fuck KK..." he groaned, using his hand to stroke Karkat's bonebulge.

Karkat couldn't stop the moans and other noises of pleasure coming from him but he didn't want to. He could feel his bonebulge moving against Sollux's hand and he screamed the yellow blood's name over and over.

Sollux moaned. "KK I'm gonna." he said, whimpering, feeling his stomach grow tight. Somehow in the books of Alternia, this was totally wrong, but he didn't care. They didn't have a bucket and Karkat worked just as fine as one. He grumbled and thrust harder.

With one final scream of his lover's name, Karkat released dark purple genetic material onto their stomachs.

Sollux moaned thrusting deeper into his nook, crying out as he pumped Karkat full of his yellow genetic liquid.

Karkat pulled Sollux close, connecting their lips as Sollux continued to thrust into him. He didn't care that by the laws of Alternia, this was taboo. It wasn't the first time nor would it be the last.

Sollux grunted, pulling out, feeling his bulges slowly start to slip back inside, leaving a trail of yellow liquid on Karkat's legs as they shut themselves back inside his body. "Nnngh..." he collapsed over Karkat, his cheeks yellow. "KK..." he breathed. "I love you... Tho much." he kissed his face.

"I love you too." Karkat curled up with him after his bulge was tucked away safely in its sheath. "That was amazing! I'm kinda glad we're trolls again." Karkat smirked.

Sollux smirked, gently running his fingers over Karkat's stomach. "Mmmm." he hummed, smiling.

Karkat gently kissed by Sollux's horns. Life had returned to normal, well, as normal as it could... 'Why did I ever think you were going to hate me again?'

"I don't know." he said, smiling. "I love you." he curled up with him, wrapping his arms around him.

Sollux twitched slightly in bed, his hands fumbling with the sheets. It wasn't a horrible dream, but it forshadowed the next day. He shivered as he woke up in a cold sweat. "Nnnn..." he breathed, looking around at the dark room.

Karkat fell asleep quickly. He was home and safe and warm and with Sollux. That's all he needed as he dreamed a memory of him and Sollux from when they were only 7 sweeps old. Strangley enough Karkat had mostly forgotten this incident. It was the first time they had kissed...

_Karkat sat at his husktop, typing a code when Sollux burst into the room. _

_"The fucking dumped me KK!" He yelled as he walked further into the room. _

_"Well, you expected it. Kanari isn't the most forgiving troll and you did kiss her moirail." Karkat murmured._

_"Aaaagh..." he grumbled, crossing his arms. "But theriouthly. That'th not nice!" he huffed. He didn't want to show he was upset. He refused. Not in front of Karkat, nothing in front of Karkat._

_"Neither is kissing someone without a quadrant." Karkat spat back. His bood pusher had started to flutter weirdly when Sollux said that he was now single._

_Sollux grumbled. "Thtill..." he said quietly, grumbling. "Thith ithn't fair..." he plopped down on the floor near the desk. "What are you doing KK?"_

_"Trying to figure out this code and no I don't want your help, Thollukth." Karkat grumbled, mocking his friend's lisp._

_Sollux grumbled. "Well fine." he huffed. "Fuck you." he got up, walking over to the window, looking outside. It wasn't very interesting, but he needed to vent. He had already vented in anger. He felt like crying. _

_"I just don't feel like being told how much I fucking suck at everything right now. Plus I really think that I have this one right so far." Karkat murmured. Sighing, he got off his bed and moved over to stand by his best friend. "Sollux, you know how I am when I'm stressed... I'm sorry that I took it out on you when you're upset. Are we still friends?"_

_Sollux turned to face him, his face looking sullen and sad. "Yeah." he replied. "And you theriouthly athk that every time." he said, offering a weak smile._

_"Fuck you Nooksniffer." Karkat turned on his heel to go back to his bed and plop on the soft mattress. He didn't even know why he had the bed, he slept in his recuperacoon most of the time._

_Sollux sighed. "KK..." he walked over, sitting down with him, flopping on his back. "Maybe thith whole quadrant thing ith thtupid."_

_"What do you mean?" Karkat asked, genuinely curious. _

_"I thought I really had thomething with her." he said, frowning, his hands fumbling with his shirt. "But no. I made a thtupid mithtake."_

_"Did you... You know..." Karkat asked, his blood pusher feeling a twinge of pain as he spoke. _

_"Did I know what?" he looked over at Karkat, his eyes filled with tears. "Thith ith theriouthly thtupid." he grumbled, shaking his head. "Thith whole... Fucking quadrant thing. FUCK." he closed his eyes, clenching his fist. He took a deep breath and let it out, feeling the translucent yellow liquid seep down his cheeks. "Gog I'm thuch a fucking grub."_

_"I was asking if you pailed her you idiot!" Karkat raised his voice slightly. "That's what you do with matesprits!" He looked over at his friend, wrapping his arms around him. "Listen Captor, I know you were red for her but maybe this is a sign that you have something better coming to you... She might even be a highblood!" Karkat laughed a little. He was trying to make his friend feel better… "If there weren't quadrants... Then what would you rather have?" Karkat asked softly._

_"No I didn't fucking pail her." he said, grumbling. He thought about it. "I don't know..." he said softly. "Thomething... Thomeone... Like... A permanant matethprit. Maybe keep the kithmethith quadrant... And jutht have 2… One red and one black. Two people you can go to when you need them."_

_"Why not red and pale? Wouldn't they work better?" Karkat asked. "Black is all about hate and I... I don't think that hate is something that trolls really need..." He whispered the last part, bringing his knees to his chest. _

_"Yeah..." he whispered. "I gueth you're really right." he turned over on his side. "I really with I had a good... Everything." he frowned. "It'th one of thothe timeth where the voiceth aren't bad... And I feel alone... It'th quiet.."_

_Karkat looked over at him. "But I'm here..." 'Fuck. Stupid blood pusher stop going crazy! He's my bestfriend! Not a redcrush!' He looked away, scolding himself. "At least you'll probably get a matesprit..." He whispered softly._

_"I'm thure you will too, KK." he said, sighing. "Thereth got to be thomeone out there for everyone." he whispered._

_"Not for me..." Karkat said. "There is a reason and it's a horrible reason but a reason nonetheless..."_

_"What." he said, frowning as he sat up. "KK. What ith that reathon."_

_"The reason isn't important." Karkat said, looking back at his knees. "It shouldn't matter to you."_

_"It matterth." he said. "You're my betht friend."_

_"It doesn't affect you." Karkat said bluntly. 'I can't tell him that the reason is that my blood is fucking mutant red...'_

_Sollux sat up, crawling towards him. "KK I thwear I will hurt you if you don't tell me. I'll thake it out of you. Tell me." his anger was showing. Stupid mood swings._

_"Blood..." Karkat whispered so softly that it was almost silent. _

_"What about it?" he said, frowning. "I'm athuming you're kinda like me. A lowblood right? Or elth we probably wouldn't get along like thith."_

_"You're right about me being a lowblood..." Karkat said softly. "But it's a lot more complicated than just being a lowblood."_

_"What color." he said, looking at him, his eyes dark. "You think I'm going to judge you?"_

_"I'm pretty sure I would be culled if anyone found out..." Karkat said. _

_"You think I'm going to tell?" he laughed. "HAH. KK you're really thilly."_

_Karkat glared at him. "I know you will. Anyone would." _

_Sollux glared back. "KK, how thtupid do you think I am? Why in gogth name would I want to cull my betht friend?"_

_"Because my blood is red..." He said softly._

_"Red?" he asked. "Like AA'th?" he tilted his head. "Herth ith more of like rutht though."_

_"No. I mean red." Karkat said grabbing his sickle and drawing a thin line on his palm with the tip. "Red." He showed it to Sollux. _

_Sollux gasped, looking at it. "Wow you weren't kidding..." he said, blinking at him. He reached out and touched his palm, taking his finger across the cut, looking at the blood on his finger. "Wow..." he whispered, frowning slightly._

_"If you're going to the drones then you should probably go now..." Karkat pulled his hand away, cleaning the wound with his tongue. "I won't run..."_

_"Why would I do that?" he said, looking at the blood still on his finger. "I'd get culled too." he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Bethideth. I think ith cool." he smiled, licking the blood off his finger, looking at Karkat._

_Karkat looked at his best friend with wide eyes. "Why the fuck did you lick it?" He yelled but a certain something in his chest was racing even harder. _

_Sollux shrugged. He flopped back down on the bed, letting out a sigh. "At letht you have a cool color. Mine lookth like pithh." he frowned._

_"Is that all you can say? Really?" Karkat asked. "At least you can do somethings. If anyone else found out about my blood... Sollux, you can't tell anyone!"_

_"I won't I won't." he said, turning to face him. "I'm not going to have my betht friend culled." he smiled. "I'll protect you."_

_Karkat didn't know what to say. This was the first time in his life that anyone had ever acted like they even remotely cared about him..._

_"KK?" he frowned. "Did I thay thomething off?" he asked. He wouldn't admit it. His blood pumper was racing, sending yellow to his face. He turned back over, facing away from Karkat as his face turned bright yellow. _

_"I don't know what to think... Or say..." Karkat whispered softly, curling back into a ball. _

_Sollux sat quiet for a minute. "KK..." he said after a long time. "Do... Do you think I'd make a good matethprit?"_

_"I don't know... It depends on the other person, I guess." he said softly. "Is there anyone besides Kanari that you're red for?"_

_Sollux felt his face flush darker. "M-Maybe." he said quietly._

_"Who?" Karkat asked, his bloodpusher squeezing. Why did asking him these questions hurt?_

_"I..." his hands started to shake. "W-Why are you athking me thith KK... A-are... A-are you jealouth or thomething?"_

_"Why the fuck would I be jealous? You're my best friend. End of story." He glared. "The only reason I'm asking is to compare your personalities to see if you would work out."_

_Sollux felt a pain in his chest. "I... I don't feel comfortable thaying who it ith."_

_"Oh... Well then I can't really help now can I?" Karkat turned away, his chest squeezing tighter. _

_'KK iit2 you iit2 you' he thought, clenching his fists. "KK..." he breathed, an almost inaudible noise. _

_'WHY CAN'T IT BE ME? FUCK...' Karkat didn't want to break down with Sollux in the room with him. "Yeah?" He asked, hearing the soft noise. _

_"I'm thorry I'm timid." he whispered at the same quietness as before._

_"What's going on in your think pan?" Karkat asked. "You can tell me anything..."_

_"It'th you." his voice was quiet. He didn't say anything else after. He just kept his eyes clenched tightly shut, his whole form shaking. He expected to be kicked off the bed in a hearbeat. _

_Karkat's face turned bright red. 'WHAT THE FUCK? HE'S JOKING... RIGHT?' "Please don't fuck with my think pan. It's fragile..." Karkat whispered._

_"I'm not..." he whispered. He felt his blood pumper race again, filling his chest with pain. He felt like he was panicking. Choking._

_"If you're serious... Then kiss me..." Karkat said, raising his head from his knees._

_Sollux rolled over, showing his face, which had gone pale. He slowly crawled over to him, using his hands to shakily lift Karkat's chin as he pressed his lips to his. It was a very timid gesture, but a kiss in the least. He pulled back, sitting back with his legs crossed, his head looking down into his lap. He couldn't look at Karkat. He was too embarrassed._

_Karkat couldn't move. Somehow, his face had become 3 times as red as before. Sollux had actually kissed him. "Do it again..." He said softly._

_Sollux looked up. "Wh..." he wet his lips and leaned forward again, this time gently holding onto the sides of Karkat's face, letting it linger for a bit longer before pulling away, his eyes staying closed tightly._

_Karkat chased after him, not wanting it to be over yet. He cupped Sollux's face in his hands, brushing their lips together before actually kissing him._

_Sollux gasped a little, his mouth parting slightly, letting his tongue brush against Karkat's lips gently, his thumbs brushing Karkat's cheeks._

_Karkat hesitantly parted his lips, allowing the tongue inside. This was the first time he had done anything like this. His bloodpusher pumped frantically and his head felt filled with fog._

_Sollux let out a soft whimpering noise when their tongues touched. His blood pumper soared, sending heat to his face and hands. He pulled back, his cheeks dark. "K-KK... Did we theriouthly... Jutht..." he felt Karkat push his lips down against his again, the pair falling back against the bed._

_Karkat hadn't meant to end up on top of Sollux but it just kinda happened. His kisses were addicting. He pulled back, starting to move off of his best friend. "S-sorry..." He said softly as he started to crawl off of him._

_Sollux grabbed ahold of him, holding him close. "No... Don't go." he said, gently kissing him again._

_Karkat looked at his friend, his face flushed bright red. "O-okay..." He whimpered, leaning his head on Sollux's chest. "Is this okay?"_

_"Yeah." he said, his hand slowly finding Karkat's hair, running through it gently._

_"Are we... Still friends?" Karkat asked softly, not sure if Sollux actually wanted to be anything else._

_"KK..." he blushed. "W-Would... Y-you..." He wondered if Karkat would care. "Be... My... My..." he couldn't finish the sentence. What if Karkat said no?_

_"What?" Karkat asked softly. Was this it? Was he going to ask if you wanted to be his matesprit?_

_"Matethprit." he swallowed hard. He closed his eyes tightly, his whole body tensing up... Expecting rejection._

_"Really?" Karkat asked, lifting his head from Sollux's chest. "Do you really?"_

_Sollux nodded quickly, his eyes still shut tight._

_Karkat kissed Sollux gently. "Of course." He whispered._

_Sollux opened his eyes, looking into Karkat's. "KK..." he whispered, gently reaching up and pulling him back down for a kiss._

_They spent the next few hours in each others arms and sharing sweet kisses. _

The dream started to fade and Karkat came back to the present. "How did I..." 'How the hell did I forget that? You're a fucking idiot Vantas!' He yelled at himself in his head for a solid 5 minutes before noticing the fully awake Sollux at his side. "Did I wake you?"

"No." he said, looking at the clock. "Nightmare." he admitted, looking over at him, his eyes dark and sullen.

Karkat curled back into Sollux's side, letting his arm drape lazily over his stomach. "Do you remember our first kiss?"

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he said, "Back on Alternia yeah?" he said quietly, looking over at him, his hand moving over Karkat's back.

"Tell me what you remember about it..." Karkat said softly.

"Mmmm..." he smiled. "I remember you being like... Angry ath alwayth." he said. "Being all... Meh and thtuff about me having my quadrant cruthed."

"About Kanari?" Karkat asked. Great... You were the fuckass that forgot your first kiss with your matesprit and in general. "Did you ask me anything?"

"Hmm." he thought back. "I think I remember athking you if I thought I'd be a good matethprit or thomething."

"Did you ask me to be your matesprit?..." He asked quietly. "That's something I think I remember..."


	35. Chapter 35

"Yeah." he smiled, running his fingers through his hair. "Mmmm..."

"Then why the hell didn't you act like it?" He asked, looking up at Sollux. "I remember crying in my room for 3 days because I thought you hated me at one point..."

"I don't know." he frowned. "I had a lot on my mind." he pondered. "I felt like... I truly wath nothing but a mutant freak. My mind wath tho methed up."

"So we've been matesprits for... 3 sweeps? Wow..." Karkat said softly, leaning against Sollux again. "That's a long time..."

Sollux smiled. "Yeah... I think it'th been good for all of uth." he said, grinning. "You're leth of an angry perthon and I wath able to get my life on track. I love you tho much." he leaned over, gently touching his face.

"You're too sweet. Like honey..." Karkat laughed, nuzzling into the warm hand of his matesprit and best friend. "I love you Sollux."

Sollux snuggled against him.

Moments later, there was a large boom. The windows rattled. "Fuck!" Sollux cried out, getting up out of bed, grabbing his glasses. He ran to the window, looking out. It was just getting bright outside. He looked around wildly at the source of the boom. It had been a sonic boom... Something broke the speed of sound as it broke through the sound barrier. He looked and saw a massive ship entering the atomosphere. "O-Oh no..." he whispered.

Karkat stood behind him. "Sollux..." He whimpered. "We have to warn the others! I'll go tell Gam and Tav, you call Fef!" Karkat pulled on a pair of pants and ran out of the apartment as fast as his legs could carry him, not worrying about anyone seeing him as what he was, a troll. "Gamzee! Open the door! She's here!"

Gamzee got off the couch. "That's what the noise was? Fuck!" He went back inside, holding Tavros close to him.

Tavros was shaking violently, clinging to Gamzee for dear life. "Oh gog... Oh gog... Oh gog..."

Sollux grabbed the phone and called Feferi. His voice was rushed. "F-Fef?" he gasped into the phone as he pulled on clothes. "T-Theth here..." he said, his voice hushed. He ran into the other room, turning on the TV. All stations were turned to the sky, showing every bit that was happening. She was going to Europe like in the dream. He felt his hands shake as he watched the Condesce and a strange man walk out of the ship into the palace like they had in his dream. He ran outside after he had hung up the phone and looked up to the sky seeing hundreds of thousands of ships enter. They were invading. He turned back around to run to his apartment and his worst fear was realized as he ran into something hard enough, falling backwards, his head reeling as all he saw was black.

"Fuck! Sollux!" Karkat ran over after seeing Sollux run into James. "James... Help me get him inside." James nodded and gently picked him up.

"So this is the dream that Sollux had been having... Fuck man." They went up to their apartment. Karkat went into the closet, pulling out both of his sickles.

"Go get some ice from the freezer. I'll stay with him." Karkat ordered James and he obliged.

Sollux groaned after a few minutes of unconsciousness. "Nnnngh..." he felt his head spin as he opened his eyes, seeing Karkat. "O-Oh gog..." he breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes closing again, his hand going to his head. "Fuck..."

"You ran head first into James..." Karkat told him, putting one of his sickles down and stroking Sollux's cheek gently. "Are you okay love? I mean like physically."

"I will be." he said, sitting up slowly. "My head hurtth but I'll be fine." he heard screaming from outside. "We have to go out there..." he whispered, looking over at James. "You... Pleathe...be careful. We're dealing with... Bad bad thingth."

James stood at the window, looking out. "Like the purple thing coming toward the building?"

"T-Thit!" Sollux got up, running to the door. His head was in a lot of pain, but he didn't care. He checked right outside the door before running to the room right below them. He banged on the door. "GAMTHEE!" He screamed. "GAMTHEE OPEN THE DOOR NOW!"

Gamzee opened the door, his eyes glaring a demonic purple. "It's him... My motherfucking ancestor... I know." He said softly. "I'm leaving Tav with you and I swear if you let anything happen to him. I will cull you." He turned, clubs in hand as he went to face his ancestor, the baddest motherfucker of them all.

Karkat had followed Sollux. "Let's go get Tav..." Karkat said softly.

Tavros had somehow managed to crawl his way into the bathroom.

Sollux walked into the apartment, shutting the door behind him. "Tavroth!" He called out.

Tavros didn't answer. He was curled up in the bathroom, holding on tight to a stuffed animal, clinging to it for dear life. "N-Nnn..." he quivered, his body shaking so hard. He had gotten sick twice already. He cringed, sobs shaking him.

"He hides in the bathroom when he's scared." Karkat said softly. "Tav, its Karkat and Sollux."

Sollux walked into the bathroom, eliciting a scream from Tavros, who looked absolutely petrified. "Thhhh..." he walked over to him. "Hey... Ith gonna be okay..." He touched his cheek.

"G-Gamzee... W-W-Where's Gamzee?"

"He went to fight his ancestor..." Karkat said softly. "He had your shirt on..."


	36. Chapter 36

"HEY MOTHER FUCKER!" Gamzee yelled as he got close to the Subjugglator. "It's show time..." He said in a deadly soft voice before moving out of the way of the club.

The Grand HighBlood let out a low evil growl. He stepped forward, the ground shaking with every step. He raised his huge club and brought it down over Gamzee, who nimbly stepped out of the way. He was huge. His hands were the size of Tavros' whole body. He swung another swipe from the side, trying to knock Gamzee to the ground.

Gamzee jumped, landing on the club itself before running up the club and his ancestors arm. He quickly jumped again onto his head, landing by a giant horn. Gamzee ducked as the older troll tried to grab for him. He was glad for his reflexes. "For Tav..." He chanted to himself.

The huge beast growled, whipping his head back and forth, trying to knock gamzee off balence.

Gamzee grabbed some of the hair that surrounded him, holding on. He was suddenly grateful for the long fingers that he had as he brought his club down on the head of his ancestor. It would take a lot more than that to kill the Grand High Blood.

"You guys... Gamzee is standing on top of the giant purple thing..." James said as he entered the room. "He's beating the things head in with what looks like a juggling club..."

* * *

><p>"That's his weapon..." Karkat said softly, holding Tavros in his arms. "He'll be okay Tav."<p>

Sollux sat holding a bright ball of red and blue energy around them. "Jutht incathe thingth get out of hand and the apartment getth blown in." He let out a shaky sigh. "Let me go and get everyone elthe down here. " he looked at Jameth. "Protect them. I'll be right back." He let go of the field and got up, heading out the door. He ran up to the top floor, finding everyone's rooms. He knocked on Vriska's door with a loud thud.

"What the hell do you want Captor? I'm getting my weapons together!" Vriska shouted. "Where are we stationed?"

"We're in Tav'th and Gamthee'th apartment." he shouted back. "The Grand HighBlood ith out here. Gamthee ith taking care of him... I'm thure he needth help." he said, frowning. "I... I want to help. I'm gathering everyone together. Meet me down by my apartment." he said, before he turned to go down to Nepeta's apartment. "Nepeta!" he pounded on the door. "Terezi"

"Hi Sollicks! I heard you when you were talking to Vriska. We're ready!" Nepeta said, guiding Terezi by the hand.

"Tav. You know how strong Gamzee is. He'll be fine. He's doing it to protect you." Karkat tried to reassure him.

Gamzee started to wail the club down on the Subjugglator's head, watching and laughing as the purple blood came out from the broken skin. If he could just move a little closer to the temple... Then he could kill him. Even without injuries, he was covered in his blood color although it was not his blood. He saw his chance and jumped for it, smashing both of his clubs against the vulnerable area of flesh beside the eye of the Grand HighBlood.

The creature's eyes rolled back in its head as it fell backwards, hitting the ground and cracking the concrete below it. Blood pooled around it. Sollux watched and gasped.

"Gamthee..." he whispered, looking at it.

Gamzee landed on its chest. "Sollux? Where's Tav?" He asked, jumping down off the chest of his ancestor.

"In the bathroom in your room." he said, his eyes dark. "Ith he dead?" he asked, watching the blood flow freely.

"Yeah." Gamzee said softly, running toward his apartment. "Tav?" He said walking into the bathroom. "Oh Tav..." He scooped up his love in his arms after dropping the purple covered clubs.

Tavros quivered against him, his hands digging into Gamzee's blood soaked shirt. "G-Gamzee..." he breathed.

* * *

><p>Sollux watched the sky carefully. From behind him, another Subjugglator, smaller than the Grand HighBlood, came up behind him, papping his club in his hand, offering a warning growl. Sollux turned around, right before the club came down on his head. He used his powers, holding the club up. He growled and held it tight. He took a step back, almost slipping in the blood of the Grand HighBlood. "SOMEONE! HELP!" he screamed, shifting his powers to the side, watching as the creature lost balance for a moment before he took off running. He was quickly followed, being knocked to the side with the giant club, landing a couple hundred feet away, his knees scraped. "Nngh..." he wiped blood from his mouth as he got up, using his powers to coat his hands.<p>

Karkat ran out of the bathroom, sickles in his hands. "Fuck..."

Gamzee came out side, carrying Tavros. "Fucking stop."

"Are you the one who killed the Grand High Blood?" The Subjugglator asked. Gamzee nodded.

"Kar. Take Tav." He said after giving Tavros a gentle kiss on the cheek. "I am and you hurt my fucking friend."

"Are you a low blood, like your shirt suggests." Gamzee shook his head.

"No, my blood is the same as his." He pointed to the dead body in the middle of the parking lot. "This is the shirt of the person I'm fighting for. That adorable little mother fucker over there." He pointed back toward Tavros. "I would gladly wear his symbol." The Subjugglator looked between Gamzee and the body of the Grand HighBlood.

"In our culture, that makes you the new Grand HighBlood."

Sollux walked over to Karkat, wiping his mouth.

Tavros quivered against Karkat. He had never been this close to another Subjugglator. It made him cringe. Gamzee was related to THAT? He shivered. What a monster...

"And that means what exactly?" Gamzee asked, taking a step forward.

"That you have control over all Subjugglators, HighBlood." The giant creature got on one knee, his club crossing his chest.

"Really?" Gamzee smiled. "Did you hear that Tav? I control them now..."

Tavros looked at him with big wide brown eyes. "W-Wow..." he breathed, his eyes wavering between tears of happiness or sadness. He turned his head, gently smacking Karkat's face with his horns. "S-Sorry, Karkat..."

"You're fine." Karkat said softly.

"First things first. See these people, they are my friends and I don't want anyone to touch them." Gamzee said, walking over to Tavros and Karkat. "Especially not Tavros."

"But he is a lowblood." The creature started.

"NO ONE IS TO TOUCH HIM." Gamzee yelled, covering Tavros' ears.

Tavros cringed.

Sollux jumped slightly. "Fearthome new leader." he said, grinning a little bit.

"Understood Highblood. I will inform the other Subjugglators." The Subjugglator bowed his head before standing and taking off running. Gamzee's attention immediately turned back to his shaking Tavros.

"Tav, are you okay?" He asked, taking him from Karkat. "This means that I can protect you better..."

He gently attached himself to Gamzee, holding on tight. He was stained from tears and from bits of blood from Gamzee's shirt. "Thank you." he said, smiling. "T-Thank you Gamzee..."

Sollux smiled. "I wonder... What thith meanth. We thtill have the culling droneth to take care of..."

A group of 15 Subjugglators came toward the apartment complex, the ground rattling with their collective footsteps. "What?" Gamzee asked, looking at them with warning in his eyes.

"Men, this is the new Grand HighBlood. He has ordered for us to leave these trolls alone, especially the one in his arms." The one that had already met the new leader of the Subjugglators said. "Do you have another order for us?"

"Kill any culling drone you happen upon. Inform the Subjugglators that are spread around the world that they are to kill a culling drone on sight." Gamzee said. The group gave a loud collective honk. "Go."

"Where ith Fef?" he looked around. "I told them to come here..." Sollux bit his lip, looking around with a sort of fear.

"Over there!" Nepeta said softly. Eridan and Feferi walked hand in hand past the group of Subjugglators.

"Soory guys... I was... Indisposed when you called..." Feferi smiled rubbing her stomach. "Will someone explain the blood?"

Eridan walked alongside her, his hand in hers. "It looks like..." he looked at Gamzee. "Gam... Did you... Kill the Grand HighBlood?"

"Yes..." Gamzee said, nuzzling his face in Tavros' neck. "Why?"

"Wwoww..." Eridan said softly. "T-That makes you the Grand HighBlood..."

"That's amazing Gamzee!" Feferi said. "That's quite the title!"

"Thanks but I just want to do whatever I can to protect Tav..." He smiled, softly kissing Tavros' cheek multiple times. "I thought I told you motherfuckers to leave." Gamzee said and then entire group of Subjugglators turn and ran. "That was kinda cool..."

Tavros kept his eyes closed tightly. "C-Can we go inside?" he asked quietly. "I... I want... To get away from this..."

Eridan nodded. "Lets go to Sol's place and regroup."

Sollux nodded. "Leth go."

Gamzee didn't say anything but just started walking up to the apartment. "It's okay Tav." He whispered to his love. "No one can hurt you now." He smiled softly, the bloodlust fading.

Sollux opened the door, still finding James inside. "Good." he said, walking into the apartment. He clicked on the TV. London was a mess. There were dead people everywhere. The culling drones had wiped out half the city.

"Fuck..." Karkat said, standing by Sollux. "We can't get over there..." He said softly.

"The Subjugglators have a way of communicating. They will start doing what I ordered soon enough." Gamzee said as he sat on the couch, Tavros in his lap. He felt like a king... The Purple King...

"What the fuck was that thing?" James asked, standing on Sollux's other side.

"Gamtheeth anthethtor." he sighed. Her Royal Condesce had stepped back into her ship. It had taken off and was headed towards the US. "Thit..."

Karkat reached for Sollux's hand. "Feferi?"

"I'll try to talk to her." She said quietly, holding on to Eridan. "Eri, I want you to come with me. Sollux, can you patch a communication line to her?"

"I can try..." He said. "With what though?" he asked, his eyes dark.

"My laptop." Karkat said softly. "It has a webcam and is the closest thing we have..."

"I agree. She would want to verify that I am who I say I am. Besides, it doesn't need to last long. Just until I can find out where she is landing..." Feferi said softly.

Sollux nodded. He grabbed the laptop, fighting with the internet connection before he finally was able to work on a code. He fought and fought with it, typing quickly as finally he got a patch through. "Fef come here." he said, his eyes dark as he stepped away from the computer.

Feferi stepped in front of the computer. "Hello Condesce. This is Feferi Peixes." The sound of her last name felt weird. She was so used to saying Feferi Ampora now. "I would like to have a dicussion with you and request to know where you are landing."

"I will be landing in Denver." The voice on the other end said.

"Thank you." Feferi smiled before waving and shutting down the computer.

"What the hell did she just say?" James asked. "I've never heard that language before."

"That's Alternian." Karkat explained. "It's a lot easier to read."

Feferi got up and walked over to Eridan. "I hope this works..."

Eridan wrapped his arms around her. "Shhh..." he said, holding her close. "I hope it does too." he whispered.

Sollux shivered. "KK..." he said quietly. "I want to go into that thip... I... I have to look for thomething."

"I'll come with you." Karkat said softly, squeezing Sollux's hand gently. He knew that the entire reason Sollux wanted on that ship was to see if he could meet his ancestor. Karkat wondered for a moment about how the Psiioniic would reacto to finding out that his Descendant and the Descendant of his dear friend the Signless were matesprits. "I can get you on the ship. Can't I?" He asked Feferi.

Sollux felt a little sad, and it showed in his face. He just hoped he was still alive.

Eridan nodded. "You should be able to."

"We'll find him. You have a highblood as a matesprit." Karkat smiled.

"Wait... I thought Karkat was a lowblood..." James said.

"I was but something happened when we became trolls again and now I'm a highblood." Karkat answered.

Sollux nodded, his eyes dark. He had a bad feeling about this. "How long do you think it will be until the geth here?" he asked Feferi.

"About an hour from what the countdown in the background said." Feferi stated. "Sollux... I think he's alive still... Her ship wouldn't be going as fast if he wasn't..."

"Her thip can already go the thpeed of light." he said quietly. "Pthionicth are amathing thingth... They made the thip go almotht thix... Or even eight timeth of that... Ith dangerouth..."

"One of the servants on the ship has been keeping me and Eri informed. She was about 150 light years away yesterday. Without a psionic, she would still be out in space right now." Feferi said.

Sollux felt a little hope return. "I... I hope heth okay..." he whispered, his eyes filling with tears. He was sure James was completely clueless.

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux's shoulders, pulling him close. "I love you."

"I love you too." he whispered, his voice soft.

Karkat leaned up, kissing him gently. "I wonder how he'll react to us..."

"I... I don't know..." he said quietly, sinking down a little.

"I bet he'll be happy to know that you found love." Karkat smiled at him. "Please try to be happy, love..."

"I'm trying." he said, clenching his fists.

'Come with me to the bedroom.' Karkat thought, pulling away and walking toward there room. "I need to talk to Sollux." He said aloud.

Sollux got up. "Okay..." he mumbled. Everyone nodded, and watched as Sollux walked back into the bedroom with Karkat, the door shutting.

Karkat pulled Sollux close to him, kissing him gently. "Sollux, what's wrong? Is it your ancestor or...?" Karkat asked softly. "Talk to me."

"I'm worried that... I'm going to walk into that thip and find him dead." he said, his voice soft. "It thcareth me... I... I don't want to thee that... I've alwayth thought of him ath a father figure... Thith great... Thith great hero who rode alongthide the Thignleth... To find him dead..." he felt tears well up in his eyes, streaming down his cheeks.

"You heard what Feferi said. If you want, I'll find out before I let you get near the room. How does that sound?" Karkat asked, running his fingers through Sollux's hair.

"I know..." he said softly, shaking his head. "I... I want to be the firtht one heth theeth."

"And you will be." Karkat said softly. "I don't have to walk in to see if he's alive. I was going to ask someone."

Sollux nodded. "Okay." He let out a shaky breath as he held onto him tightly. "I feel... That the will be here thoon."

A noise, louder than that of an airplane overhead, sounded. "That should be her..." Karkat said softly. "It'll be okay." He leaned up kissing Sollux gently. "Let's go find your ancestor." He smiled.

Sollux kissed him back, his cheeks yellow. "y-Yeah."

The ship hovered over the main part of the city, covering a large part of the sun, making it dark. A huge bridge came out from the bottom of the ship, leading down to the center of the complex where Feferi, Karkat, Sollux and Eridan were waiting. Sollux swallowed hard, watching as the Condesce and that strange man from before walked down the steps to the ground.

Karkat looked over at Sollux. "It's okay."


	37. Chapter 37

"Hello Condesce." Feferi smiled, walking up the platform.

The Condesce looked down at her descendant. "Hello." she replied back.

Sollux didn't trust himself. He swore he remembered how to speak Alternian, but he didn't trust it. He kept quiet.

She looked down at Eridan. "Dualscar's descendant." she said.

The man looked slightly taken aback, his hood being pulled down.

Eridan felt a surge of emotion. He kept his straight face, his hands shaking slightly as he watched his ancestor's face be revealed.

Karkat looked up at the Condesce. He didn't know what to say though he knew he could speak in Alternian without a problem.

She turned, her eyes glaring down at Karkat. "And who are you?"

"My name is Karkat Vantas." He said loudly. He didn't know if there was anything else he should be doing.

"He is a highblood." Feferi said. "The yellowblood is his protector."

"He wears the sign of the Signless. A mutant." her eyes narrowed.

Sollux feared for both of their lives.

Karkat took his sickle and ran the tip along his arm. "I am a highblood." He said as the dark purple blood ran down his arm.

The Condesce let out a small sigh. "I wouldn't let a mutant blood like you anywhere near me. But you have proven yourself." She turned to Feferi. "If you wish to speak, we shall speak in my ship. Follow me." Dualscar and Condesce turned, taking a step up the huge ramp.

Eridan took Feferi's hand and gently led her up the ramp.

Sollux hesitated.

Meanwhile, news cameras and TV stations broadcast the live story of watching these four young adults take steps onto the massive ship. Tavros cringed and waited, clinging to Gamzee as tight as he could. "G-Gamzee I'm scared..."

"I know but we'll be okay." Gamzee said, rubbing Tavros' back. "Plus we have all of my Subjugglators."

"Yeah..." he replied quietly.

Sollux and Karkat followed Feferi and Eridan all the way up to the entrance to the ship. There were several guards waiting. Sollux swallowed, fighting not to make eyecontact with them.

Karkat kept his head up. He was a highblood and he need to act like it. The pair began to search the ship to find someone who would point them to the Helmsman's chamber. Finally, after a bit of searching, they found a maid. "Can you tell me how to get to the chamber that holds the Helmsman?" Karkat asked her.

"Yes highblood. I shall lead you. It is about time that I bring him his meal." Karkat nodded. After the maid turned away, he looked at Sollux and smiled. They could do this.

Sollux gripped the back of Karkat's shirt.

Feferi went in with the Condesce, and Eridan went to go speak with Dualscar.

Sollux knew the Signless had been killed thousands of years ago, and he was about to meet his ancestor for the first time. He was shaking.

The maid walked into a kitchen like area, getting a tray of food for the Helmsman. It consisted of fruits and a few pieces of meat along with a couple of veggies. It wasn't hardly any food at all. Everything was cut into small pieces. "I will feed him and I will return. Then you may go in." she said as she walked into a room concealed in darkness. They waited patiently for her to return. The maid returned a few moments later, the tray empty. She let the pair inside. Sollux walked in first, followed by Karkat.

The room was dim. The only lights were that of the wires and cables that held the Helmsman to the floor and ceiling. It was a dull room, nothing but a little water on the floor and all those wires. Sollux walked into the room, seeing his ancestor hanging. He fell to his knees, the water around him splashing as he stared at the pathetic thin figure that was his ancestor.

The man made a soft noise, looking towards the source of the noise. "Who... Who'th there..." he whispered.

"Sollux... Answer him..." Karkat said softly, rubbing his lover's back. "You can do it."

Sollux cleared his throat. "Thollux Captor." he said softly, cursing his lisp in that moment. "A-And Karkat Vantath. My matethprit."

The man's face lightened. "Sollux..." he said, his lisp almost unintelligible. "How... How did you find me?" he asked.

"We... We asked a maid." he said softly, looking at him. "C-Can you thee?"

The man attempted to shake his head, but instead he made a hiss of pain. "No." he admitted. There was a sound of something turning on, a camera moved from the ceiling. Sollux looked up at it. The Helmsman gasped. "You... You look just like me." he said. "Come closer..."

Sollux stood, his legs shaky as he walked closer to the man, his hand reaching out. He gently brought his fingers across his shoulder.

Karkat smiled softly. "Sollux has wanted to meet you all of his life." He walked over to the pair, putting a hand on Sollux's shoulder. "Haven't you."

Sollux nodded.

"It is... A shame you have to see me in this condition." he said, looking down at his decendant.

Sollux let out a soft sob. "Please don't cry, Sollux." he said. Oh how he wanted to comfort the young male. "Please..."

"How... How can the treat you like thith?" he turned and looked up at him, his eyes and skin stained with yellow.

"It is my duty..."

"No..." Sollux reached up and touched his face. "It thould not be a duty... For ANYONE to therve anyone elthe becauthe of their blood cathte..."

"Where..." the Helmsman looked taken aback. "Where did you hear that...?"

"From my ancestor..." Karkat said softly, moving back so the camera could get a good look at him. "Do you know who it is?"

"O-Oh my..." He saw the horns and felt weak. "Signless..." He swallowed and felt a shiver run through him, tears starting down his face. "Oh how I miss him..."

Karkat nodded, going back to his spot by Sollux. "Are you okay love?" He wrapped his arms around Sollux.

Sollux reached up and gently touched the Psionic's face. "Itth okay..." he whispered. "Don't cry. He lived to the fulletht he could." he frowned, touching where the band was attached to his face. "I... I with I could thee your eyeth..." he looked at Karkat. "Do... Do you think ith dark enough in here?" he asked.

Karkat looked around for a moment, finding a cloth. "Is it okay if I cover the screens?" He asked the Psionic.

The man tried to nod, "Yes." he replied.

Sollux was just too short to reach. He used his powers, gently touching the man's face.

The Psionic felt the powers and it sent goose bumps down his spine. "You're strong." he said.

"Sollux, can you get me up by the screens?" Karkat asked, holding the tarp.

Sollux looked over, using his hand to raise Karkat high enough to cover the screens with the tarp. He helped tuck them in on the sides, making the room almost completely pitch black besides for the color of Sollux's glowing powers.

Karkat's eyes adjusted easily. He wrapped his arms around Sollux's neck as he was brought back to the ground. "Now it should be okay."

Sollux lifted himself into the air, gently unhooking the parts where the goggles were attached.

Slowly he unveiled the Psionic's eyes, showing opposite colors than his own. He slowly blinked. "Its dark..." he whispered, seeing the familiar glow of his eyes reflected in someone else. "Sollux..." he looked truly grateful.

Karkat smiled to himself. Sollux was meeting the person that he considered a father for the first time and he was happy to have a happy matesprit. "I wanna come up too!" He playfully whined, crossing his arms.

Sollux touched his face gently, his eyes sorrowful. He lifted Karkat to his level. "Pthionic..." Sollux began, averting his eyes. "Thank you for athhithting in thomething tho amathing... Thomething that helped uth thurvive thith... Amathing thing..."

His ancestor looked at him and smiled for the first time in a long time. "You're welcome." he said quietly. "I'm... I'm glad that the world... Has changed." he blinked slowly. "This... This glimpse of what the future holds for you... It's enough to make me happy." he wished that he could muster up enough power. He fought it and used his own powers, as weak as they were to wrap them around Sollux, embracing him. "I am pained to say this..." he began. "But I hope death is swift for me. I have lived too long... And I know that the teachings my friend had done... Have come true. I can say now that my life is fulfilled."

Sollux wrapped his arms around what he could of the Psionic. There were so many wires and tubes. "I... I'm jutht glad I was able to meet you... Before you left thith plane... Thank you for warning me of thith..."

"Thank you." Karkat smiled at him. "I'm happy to meet the dear friend of the man that I have always admired but knew I could never be... Do you have enough strength to tell me a little about him? You know... Personally?"

The Psionic turned his gaze, retreating his powers, letting Sollux take back over. "Yes." he said, smiling. "He was... Such a wonderful person. So kind. Caring. He took me in when no one else would. He taught me that..." He swallowed. "That... Slavery was wrong."

"I'm glad to be his descendant." Karkat smiled.

"I'm glad he has such a sweet descendent." he used his powers to gently touch Karkat's face.

A beeping noise was heard. "The Condesce is coming... You must leave."


	38. Chapter 38

Sollux quickly fastened the goggles around him again. "I'm tho thorry..." he whispered, giving his ancestor a brief kiss on the cheek. "Thtay thtrong." he said, feeling tears come down his face.

"I will come to you in your dreams and memories. Never forget me. I will still be here for as long as I can... Until my final breath."

Sollux lowered both of them. He looked up at his ancestor one last time before turning to the door.

The door opened and her royal Condesce stood there, looking LIVID.

Karkat looked over at her. "Yes Condesce?" He growled.

"Who gave you permission to come in here?" she said, glaring mostly at Sollux, her eyes narrowed.

"I wanted to meet him." Karkat said. "If you blame anyone, blame me."

"You are traveling with his descendant." she said, her voice growing angry. "Negotiations are over." she said, her voice dangerous.

Eridan looked out from behind her. He met eyes with Sollux. "Run." he mouthed.

The trident of the Condesce came toward them but Karkat had his sickle back in his hand. With the skills he had learned from boxing he managed to deflect it with his sickle. "Optic blast?" He asked Sollux softly.

Sollux panicked. Did he even know how to do that? The last time he did that... He swallowed hard and took his glasses off, concentrating all of his powers. The Condesce screamed.

"HELMSMAN STOP HIM!" she commanded.

The Psionic looked over at her the best he could, his eyes covered. "How..." he whispered as Sollux let a rather weak blast out from his eyes, aimed at the Condesce. It knocked her aside for a moment, giving them ample time to run.

Eridan grabbed Feferi's arm, pulling her alongside him. "Sol, make Fef float if you can I don't wwant her to get hurt!"

Sollux nodded, letting his powers lift her off the ground just slightly. "Thhe won't fall." he said. "I've got her."

Karkat ran as fast as he could but there were guards everywhere. He started to swing his sickles, cutting them aside. "Eridan, how the hell do we get out of here?" He yelled as he ran, trying to remember the way that the maid had brought them. "How the hell did she find out that we were there?"

Eridan didn't have a weapon. Nor did Feferi.

Sollux protected them, wrapping them in a bubble as he and Karkat did most of the work.

"I don't knoww." Eridan said, his voice soft and frightened. He looked around madly for some sort of exit.

Sollux backed into a drone, gasping as he fell to the ground, turning over with enough time to stop the drone's blade an inch away from his face. He held it there, his eyes wide, his heart painfully pounding in his chest.

Karkat got in front of him, the drone's blade an inch or less from his face thanks to his sickle. "Go." He yelled.

"Take a left at the end of this hall." Feferi yelled.

Sollux looked back. "KK..." he breathed. "Don't die..." he turned and ran, helping both Feferi and Eridan fight off drones. They turned left. "Alright now where?!"

"Straight and then a right at the red hall!" She informed him.

Karkat pushed the drone back, taking his other sickle and stabbing it. But that didn't stop the culling drone as it sliced his arm open. "FUCK!" He screamed, feeling the hot blood run down his arm.

Sollux cringed. "I... I want KK to be okay..." he hoped silently as he took off, running straight down the hall, turning right. He saw the door. The ramp was up. They were hovering hundreds of feet in the air.

"O-Oh my cod..." Eridan said, as he looked out.

"Can you levitate all three of us Sollux?" Feferi asked, scared.

Karkat jumped, dodging the drone's blade. He could feel his body starting to lag from fatigue. Secretly, he hoped that the Psionic could do something to help him but he knew that he was on his own. 'I love you Sollux." He thought loudly before running at the drone, slashing his sickles.

"W-What about Karkat?!" Sollux said, trying not to let his anger out. He didn't want to yell at Feferi. "W-What do we do?!" he looked down. "Oh gog oh gog oh gog..." Sollux put his hands on his head.

"I don't know..." She said, her emotions going crazy. "I don't know..." She started to cry.

Karkat was honestly surprised that he wasn't killed by the attempt he just made but there against the wall was a culling drone with 2 sickles in its chest. He panted before pulling them out of the non-operating, death machine as he tried to find some way of knowing where they went.

Sollux felt panicky. Culling drones were walking towards them, their weapons high. Sollux felt pained. He grabbed hold of Feferi and Eridan, holding them close with his powers. "I alone will come back and get Karkat. Do you underthtand?" he asked, looking at both of them.

He saw them, surrounded by a group of culling drones. "Hey fuck faces! The Signless is over here!" Karkat yelled, distracting the drones.

Sollux looked at him and swallowed. "I will be right back..." he whispered, taking a leap of faith with Feferi and Eridan held close by. He screamed. They fell from the aircraft, their bodies falling faster due to the weight. Sollux used all he could to slow them down, finally hitting the ground with light footsteps. He hugged them both close. "Get thomewhere thafe." he said, his voice quiet as he leapt into the air, using his powers to fly as fast as he could up to the ship.

Gamzee stood outside with Aradia and one of his Subjugglators. "Where's Kar?" He asked Eridan. "Why is Sol going back?"

Karkat ran as fast as he could back to the Psionic's chamber, hoping to find safety there. "Psionic! Please help me!" He yelled as he ran into the dark room. "Please!"

The Psionic looked towards the door, activating something as it opened. The Condesce had gone back to her chamber. The door sealed behind Karkat tightly, locking out the culling drones.

"Kar is still up there." Eridan said, looking at Gamzee.

Sollux stepped onto the ship again, his steps uncertain. Karkat wasn't there. "O-Oh gog no..." He felt panic stricken. "No... No..." he ran in the direction that Karkat had come from. He looked all around, his hands shaking. Drones spotted him. Sollux broke out into a run.

'I'm with the Psionic... Sollux if you can hear me, I'm with the Psionic. I'm safe.' He screamed in his head, holding his knees. He was so scared and he didn't know if Sollux had even made the jump. "Thank you Psionic..." He whispered, trying not to cry.

The psionic wanted to shift... But he couldn't. "He can't hear you." he said softly. "His mind is muddled. He's looking for you... I don't even know if he can hear me." he said quietly.

"Fuck..." Karkat said, punching the ground beside him. "Is there anything we can do?"

"The only thing you can do is go out and find him." he said. "I can't see him on the monitor." he said. "But he's running. I can feel it."

"Are they still out there?" Karkat asked. "The drones?" 'He's probably scared because he can't find me.'

"The drones are chasing him." He said. "I can track their movements... But I can't control them." he said quietly, "The Condesce wants to make him her pet too... I won't let that happen."

"I won't either." Karkat said. "Can you get in my head too or is it a thing between you and Sollux?"

"I might be able to." He said. "Come closer." he reached out with his powers, touching Karkat's head.

This was one of the weirdest things Karkat had ever felt in his life. "What's going on?"

"I'm tapping into your mind." he said, letting the psionics sink down into his brain. 'Now then. Can you hear me?'

'Yes.' Karkat thought. 'Can you hear me?'

'Yes.' he replied, 'Now go. I will alert you as soon as I know something. All the drones are heading to the northern side of the ship.'

'Thank you.' Karkat thought before grabbing his sickles and leaving the dark room. 'Let me know if you find him on any of the monitors.'

'I will.' he communed.

Sollux had been backed into a corner. His eyes were full of fear. He lashed out with his powers, knocking at least ten of them to the ground. He cringed, getting up. One of the drones knocked him down, slicing across his stomach. "Nngh fuck!" he hissed, falling. He forced himself to get up and run. He clutched his stomach, feeling the blood seep through the shirt, wetting his hand. He ran feeling the pressure of the fear and stress getting to him. He felt sick.

"Sollux! Where are you?" Karkat yelled as he ran. "Sollux!" Finally he found him, being chased by a few drones. "Sollux!" He screamed running toward the drones, using his sickles to stop the drones that he could. Before he realized it, all the drones around them were gone. 'Are there any more coming?' He asked the Psionic. "Sollux, baby... Are you okay?" He asked, gently rubbing Sollux's back.

'No. You'd better flee though. Hurry while you still have time. I will direct you to the exit'

Sollux coughed. "Gog it hurtth tho bad..." he held his stomach tightly. "Nnngh fuck..." he looked at Karkat. "W-We have to get out of here..."

'Thank you.' Karkat thought as he pulled his shirt off, using his sickle to slice it into strips. "Raise your shirt." Karkat said, holding one of the strips in his hands.

Sollux shifted, cringing as he lifted his shirt. The wound was deep. It had cut into the muscle on his stomach. It hadn't done any internal damage which was good, but it stung badly. The skin around it burned like it was on fire. "Nnngh fuck..." he cringed. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "KK we don't have time for thith..." he breathed, his breath coming in short pants. "We have to go... We have to... We have to leave..."

"Shut up." Karkat said, wrapping the strips around his waist. "The Psionic will tell me if anything is coming. And I am NOT going to let you bleed all over the place and let them know where we are." He looked at Sollux. "See. It only took a minute." 'Now how do we get out?' He asked the Psionic as he helped Sollux stand.

Sollux leaned on him for support. 'Turn that corner and then go straight down the hallway. Turn left. The entrance will be down there. The door is open right now. I don't know how much longer I can keep it open. Hurry.'

Sollux whimpered, his hand shifting to Karkat's shoulder. "KK..." he breathed. "We have to... Go..."

"I know. Can you stand by yourself for a second?" Karkat asked.

Sollux nodded, gently moving to try and steady himself on both feet. He felt light headed.

Karkat shifted in front of him. "Get on my back and no you don't have a choice." He said, his voice stern.

Sollux looked at him. "KK..." he said, trying to climb up onto his back, settling down against him.

'Another batch of culling drones is coming your way. Hurry.'

Karkat tightened his grip on Sollux's legs. "Hold on tight. We have to run." 'Give me the directions again.'

'Turn that corner and then go straight down the hallway. Turn left.' he repeated.

'Thanks!' Karkat thought as he took off in a run. "I'm not stopping when we get to the door. Think you can catch us?" Karkat asked as he ran toward the turn.

Sollux cringed. "I think." he said, his hands tightening on Karkat's shoulders. "It might... Be a rough landing." he said, his voice soft.

'You're almost there. Good luck to both of you.'

'You as well.' Karkat said. "That's fine just don't let us die." He yelled as he jumped.

Sollux felt that familiar falling sensation. He cried out, using his powers as hard as he could, feeling his body grow weaker and weaker. They slowed until they were on the ground. Sollux fell unconscious against Karkat, his whole form shaking.

"Fuck..." Karkat winced, he had landed on his ankle wrong but he kept walking until they got over to their friends. "Hi guys..." He grinned.

Tavros gasped. "Guys..." he said, reaching out for them. "Oh gog..." he wished he could run to them. The ship creaked as it left. The Condesce wouldn't fool with a war between a world unwilling. She had no control any longer. The ship and all the other ships of the fleet departed back into space.

"Can someone take him? I need to check out my ankle." Karkat winced, stepping down a little too hard.

"I have him." Equius said, gently grabbing Sollux from Karkat's back.

"Well, that was a fucking adventure." Karkat mumbled.

"Are you two okay?" Feferi asked.

"He has a wound on his stomach and I have a cut on my arm. I'm fine though." He said quietly.

Sollux shifted. A massive widespread pain shot through all of them. Sollux let out a scream. He heard Tavros and Eridan and Gamzee scream falling to the ground. Equius dropped him. He felt his head hitting the ground before all went to black.


	39. Chapter 39

Slowly, Sollux Captor opened his eyes. He was in a hospital room. He was hooked up to machines that beeped and chimed. The room smelled like antiseptic. He opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. His grey skin and yellow fingernails still remained. What was going on? He tried to lift his head, but winced in pain. Bad idea, he thought. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He heard the door open. Everything was blurry. Where were his glasses?

Karkat lay in his bed, visions of drones and yellow blood filling his head before it all came to an end. The visions stopped and something told him to open his eyes. Slowly, he did so. He shifted, taking in his surroundings. It looked like the same hospital that he had been in when they first arrived from Alternia 3 years prior. Groaning, his sat up as best he could. 'I wonder where Sollux is.' He thought to himself. 'I hope he's okay… Or if he can hear me… Sollux… If you can hear me, I want to tell you that I love you.' His throat burned so he wasn't even going to try to speak. He wondered briefly if he should call a nurse in to see him but decided against it. After a few minutes of talking to himself in his mind, a nurse came into the room. "Hey Karkat! Sollux just woke up a few minutes ago, so I thought I would come check to see if you wanted to move in there." The familiar male nurse smiled at him. Karkat nodded his head.

Sollux shifted in his bed a little bit. The nurse was the nice nurse from before. She came in to check his bandages. She pulled back the sheets, showing his stomach, which was stitched up. The wound was clean, but looked still pretty bad. She dabbed at it with some antiseptic before patting his head and leaving. She didn't talk much.

"You're going to have to use the wheel chair this time since you hurt your ankle." He smiled at Karkat, who nodded.

"Sollux." He said, his voice raspy.

"I know. I'm going to move you in there. Just like last time." The man smiled as he helped Karkat into the wheel chair. About a minute later, the nurse was opening the door to Sollux's room. "Hey Sollux! I've brought a Karkat for you!"

Sollux swallowed whatever medicine the lady had given him. Painkillers probably? He didn't know. His arm hurt. There was an IV stuck in his arm. No wonder. He shifted a little, eliciting a wince as he looked over seeing Karkat. He looked like he had before, his face flushed perhaps a little more purple. He offered a weak smile. The voices had long disappeared. He hadn't heard anything but his own voice. It was nice for a change.

'Sollux... Can you hear me?' Karkat thought. 'If you can... I can't really talk...'

Sollux looked at him, opening his mouth. "KK." he managed to squeak out. He guessed he had screamed until his voice was hoarse. Things had been reset. He coughed a little, his stomach burning. He reached his hand out, looking at Karkat with big eyes.

Karkat grabbed for Sollux's hand. 'How is your stomach?' He asked bringing Sollux's hand up to his face. 'I'm so happy you're okay.'

Sollux let him touch his face, his hand gently touching Karkat's. "Nnn..." he smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but only a soft squeak came out.

'I love you.' He said in his head. Karkat smiled up at him. 'I'm so glad you're okay.'

Sollux rested his eyes, his pupils finally returning. He looked somewhat different. His eyes, both still red and blue, the white part of his eye now yellow like a troll, and the center black. He could see a little better now, but he still needed his glasses. He touched Karkat's arm.

'It's fine.' Karkat smiled at him. The nurse looked down.

"Do you want to get up there with him?"

Karkat nodded furiously. 'Is that okay with you Sollux?'

Sollux shifted over a little bit. "Nnn..." he hummed.

Karkat smiled as the nurse picked him up and set him beside Sollux. He immediately but gently grabbed Sollux's hand. 'I love you.' He smiled up at him. 'Let me know if I hurt you...'

Sollux shifted a little, his stomach burning. "Nn..." he shifted but gently held his hand, his fingers lacing with his. "Mmmm."

Karkat smiled, leaning his head on Sollux's shoulder.

"It's nice to know that you two are still together and as adorable as you were 3 years ago!" The nurse said. "Well, since you two are all situated now, I'm going to go check on Gamzee and Tavros."

Something was different. He turned and laid his head on Karkat's chest. "Nnn..." he whispered. "Thomething ith different."

'Like what?' He asked, tilting his head.

"He thaid... 3 yearth ago... 3 yearth ago... We were human..." he whispered.

'You're right... That doesn't make any sense...' Karkat bit his lip. 'Maybe events have changed? Call him back in here and ask!'

Sollux grumbled softly, and cringed as he sat up a little, reaching for the remote, hitting the call nurse button.

A couple minutes later, the nurse returned. "Yes SolKar?"

"Thomething... Ith different." he said softly, looking at him. "Ithn't it..."

"What do you mean? You're horns have gotten bigger but that's about it." The man said.

Sollux frowned. "We... Never had pale thkin?" he asked, shifting his legs a little bit.

"No. But Karkat wasn't purple..." He said, tapping his chin. "I distinctly remember him being red... Troll anatomy amazes me."

Sollux let out a shaky sigh. "Mutht have been a dream..." he blinked a little bit, his head pounding. "Nnn..."

"Okay. Well, just let me know if you need anything." The man smiled before he left.

'Are you okay?' Karkat asked.

Sollux nodded, half closing his eyes. "My thtomach jutht hurtth." he whispered, leaning against him. "Hold me... I mithed you."

Karkat wrapped his arms loosely around Sollux. 'I missed you too.'

* * *

><p>Tavros shifted in his bed. He really was generally okay. He had a few scrapes and bruises. His head ached badly. He must have taken a fall, he thought. His head was bandaged around his horns. They were smaller than back on Alternia and he was very thankful for that. He could actually get through doorways. He shifted, rolling into his side.<p>

"Tav... You feeling okay?" Gamzee asked, rubbing his love's arm, smiling a little. He had been the first one awake and had been helping the nurses clean the wounds of his boyfriend. His only injury was a broken arm.

Tavros shifted. "Y-Yeah." he said, looking at him with his brown eyes. "I'm fine." he smiled.

"That's good." Gamzee smiled. "How do your horns feel?"

"A little... Irritating but its okay." he said, turning back over onto his back. "I... Almost wish I didn't have them."

"Do they hurt?" Gamzee asked. "I love you."

"No." he said, shaking his head. "Just... Annoying." he smiled, "I love you too, Gamzee."

"Can I come up there?" He asked softly.

Tavros nodded. "Yeah." he smiled. "Of course." he papped the spot next to him on the bed.

Gamzee smiled as he stood and crawled on the bed with his Tavros. "I'm glad to you are okay. I had to wait 3 days before you woke up..." He pouted. "I missed cuddling with you."

"Aww..." he smiled and reached out for him. "I love you."

* * *

><p>Eridan woke with a start. "F-FEF!" he gasped out, feeling a pain in his head. "Nnn..." he looked around as he waited for his head to stop spinning.<p>

Feferi looked over at Eridan. "Hi Eri!" She smiled at him. "Because I know you will ask, the grub is fine." She grinned even wider.

Eridan let out a sigh of relief, resting his head against the pillow again. "Oh thank cod..." he whispered, looking over at her. "I wwas so scared, Fef..."

"I know. But everyfin is fin!" She smiled, gently rubbing her stomach. "But they said grub so I'm thinking that it will look like we did when we were grubs and not like a human child. Which would make sense since we are trolls." Feferi giggled softly.

He smiled and reached out for her. "Fef... Come to me." he whispered. "I lovve you so much, Fef. You havve no idea."

Feferi got out of her chair and walked over to him. "I love you too Eri!" She smiled as she got onto the bed with him.

Eridan pulled her close, his hand on her swollen stomach. He smiled and kissed her sweetly. "Fef I'm so happy." he wrapped his arms around his pregnant matesprit. "I can't wait."

"Me either!" She smiled. "I'm so happy that you're okay. I was worried that you had gotten hurt." Feferi snuggled close to her matesprit.

He smiled. "No. Not terribly." he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

* * *

><p>Sollux had fallen asleep against Karkat, his breath quiet. The quiet nurse came in to change his bandages again, helping Karkat move slightly so she could unwrap his stomach. The wound was healing quickly, which was good. It was going to leave a nasty scar for the time being until it healed.<p>

The nurse wrapped his stomach again before leaving. Sollux shifted in bed, his mouth parting. "Nnn." he hummed, before letting out a soft snore.

Karkat giggled a little as he watched his matesprit shift in his sleep. 'You're so cute.' He thought to himself.

Karkat smiled as Sollux slept. 'It seems like he's not having any nightmares.'

* * *

><p>She tilted her head back before leaning up and kissing him gently. "I love you."<p>

Eridan smiled and touched her cheek, smoothing his finger over it. "Mmm" he smiled brightly.

* * *

><p>Gamzee looked over at Tavros. "Do you want anything to eat?"<p>

Tavros thought for a moment. "Mmmm..." he hummed. "I don't know." he said. "Some fruit I think would be uh... Good."

"I'll be right back okay?" Gamzee asked before starting to crawl off the bed.

Tavros nodded. "Okay." he smiled brightly and sat up, leaning against the back wall of the bed.

Gamzee went out to the hall and over to the nurse's station. "Can I get some fruit?" The nurse smiled at him and nodded.

* * *

><p>Sollux stirred after a moment, rubbing his eyes. "Nnn..." he looked up at Karkat.<p>

'Morning love.' Karkat smiled, cupping Sollux's face with his hands before kissing him gently.

Sollux kissed him back gently, pulling back. "Nn... KK are you going to talk?" he asked, his voice soft. "Or doeth your throat hurt..." he touched Karkat's neck gently, frowning.

'It burns so bad.' Karkat thought. 'If I talk, I sound like a frog.'

Sollux smiled a little, coughing into his hand. "Thath cute." he smiled.

'Fuck you.' Karkat growled at him. 'Don't make any puns about that sounding like a cat.'

"I won't." he smirked. "Nnn..." he reached out, smiling. "Kith me again?"

Karkat smiled and kissed him gently. 'Anything for the one who has Captor'd my heart.' He smirked into the kiss.

Sollux let out a soft whimpering noise. "Lame." he said when they pulled back. "Nnn..." he touched his face. "I can't wait to go home."

'You loved it! I can't wait to go home too.' Karkat smiled, kissing him again. 'Hey Sollux... I've kinda been thinking about some things... Why don't we move out of the apartment and get a small house or something...'

Sollux nodded. "We could." he said. "We'll dithcuth it when I get out of here okay?"

Karkat nodded. 'You have to admit though. It was a cute pun...' He grinned.

Sollux smirked. "Cute and lame." he said, gently pulling Karkat over him. He didn't care about his stomach in this moment. "Nnn..." it burned, but he wanted Karkat close to him.

'Baby, don't hurt yourself!' Karkat pouted, wrapping his arms around his love, loosely.

Sollux shifted slightly, wincing. "I'm fine..." he said, touching his chest. "Nnn..."

'Honey Bee... I don't want you to hurt yourself...' Karkat leaned his head on Sollux's shoulder and his hand on his chest. 'You're the worst injured so please be careful.'

"I know..." he said quietly. His voice shaking. "I'll be okay... I jutht..." he shifted, wincing in pain. "Okay that hurt bad."

'Then stop fucking moving!' Karkat pouted. 'If you keep moving, you're just going to open the wounds again.'

"I know I know..." he shifted lightly, frowning. "Nn..." he panted quietly. "It hurtth." he pulled back the sheet, looking down at it. It wasn't bleeding or anything, but it hurt bad. "I with ... That... Thith hadn't happened..." he sniffed a little.

'I'm sorry... It was the only thing I could do to get you guys out of there...' Karkat averted his gaze, knowing that he had upset Sollux. 'I'm sorry.'

"Itth fine." he smiled sweetly, touching his face. "KK I love you no matter what."

'I know but I still got you hurt.' He pouted looking up at him. 'To make me feel better, give me a kiss.' Karkat smiled as innocently as he could.

He looked at him. "Then come here." he said, reaching his hands out.

Karkat smiled, gently leaning over his matesprit. 'Yes?' He smirked.

Sollux reached up, kissing him gently. "Mmmm..." he hummed.

Karkat gently cupped Sollux's face with one of his hands, the other keeping him balanced. 'You're amazing and I am so happy that you're all mine.'

Sollux smiled. "Yup." he said, settling down against the bed. "Mmm..."

Gently, he laid back down beside his love. 'Can you call the nurse for me? I want to nap now. I'll come back later and we can cuddle more!' He smiled up at Sollux.

Sollux reached over and hit the button. "Thure." he said.

The same nurse came in. "What do you two need now? Jeez." He rolled his eyes. "I'm just kidding, what do you need?"

"KK wanth to nap." he said, papping Karkat's head.

"Okay? Don't you two normally nap together?" The nurse asked. "Why don't you just nap then?"

"He doethn't want to hurt me. My thtomach really hurtth." he said, frowning.

"Oh. That would make sense." He smiled walking over and picking Karkat up before placing him in the wheelchair. "I'll bring him back after he wakes up." The man smiled as they left Sollux's room. 'I'll try not to sleep for too long!' Karkat thought.

Sollux nodded. He winced and slumped down into the bed, closing his eyes.

Karkat was placed on his bed. 'I hope his wound heals quickly... I don't like not being able to actually cuddle with him.' He sighed as he curled up under his blanket, falling asleep quickly.

Sollux tried to sleep, but the pain was too much. He whimpered and called for the nurse.

"Yes Sollux?" She asked when she came in.

"My thtomach... Ith there thomething wrong? Why doeth it hurt tho bad..." he touched his chest, frowning.

"That's because it was starting to get infected when you got here. Whatever did that to you wasn't clean and so we had to completely clean it." She answered. "It's the antiseptics."

He winced. "It... Nnnn... Ith there anything you can do for the pain?" he asked, looking at her. "It... Really... Really hurtth. I can barely move."

"I'll go get the doctor." She said before leaving the room. A couple minutes later she returned with the doctor.

"Hello Sollux. The nurse has told me that your stomach is really hurting you so I'm going to take a look and see what's going on." He smiled. "Sound good?"

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he said, shifting his legs a little. "Nnn..." he let out a soft sigh.

The doctor carefully undid the wrapping around Sollux's waist. "It looks like it's starting to get infected. Go get me some alcohol wipes and the stronger antiseptic." He told the nurse. She returned quickly with the requested items. "I have to get the puss out so bear with the pain for a moment. It will hurt." He said as he began to push down on the sides of the wound, yellow puss being pushed from it.

Sollux clenched his fists, clenching his jaw tightly shut. Fuck it hurt! He felt his nails go through the mattress. Oops.

"I'm sorry but this needs to be done." He gently wiped the puss away with an alcohol pad before checking to make sure all the puss was out. With careful fingers, the doctor applied the antiseptic to the skin and wrapped it back up in clean bandages. "I hope that wasn't too terrible..." He tried to smile. "Call if it starts to hurt worse."

Sollux nodded, his hands shaking. Gog why did he put himself through this pain? Why wasn't Karkat there? Oh yeah, he was sleeping. He felt his hands loosen on the mattress, his breath calming. He felt hot tears come down his face. "Fuck..." he whimpered, covering his face in the sheets. Now was not the time to cry like a wriggler.

Karkat tossed and turned in his sleep, his dreams full of drones. "Sollux!" He screamed with a raspy voice as he woke up. The sudden scream had a nurse in the room as the coughing fit began.

The nurses hurried in, grabbing an oxygen mask. "Here." they put the mask over his face, letting oxygen back into his lungs.

Sollux shifted a little on his back, his mouth parting in a sob. He wanted Karkat.

After a few minutes, Karkat could breathe again. He leaned back against the bed and grabbed a pen and some paper. "I WANT TO SEE MY SOLLUX." He wrote on the paper before showing it to the nurse. His nurse nodded.

"That's not a good idea. What if he has another fit again?"

The man looked at the other. "Sollux is the only one who makes him feel better. I'm taking him to Sollux." He said as he picked Karkat up and set him in the wheelchair. "I won't tell Sollux about this if you don't want me to."

"PLEASE DON'T. HE WORRIES ENOUGH..." Karkat wrote on the paper.

The sensor in the room had gone dark. Sollux sat in the dark, the only light being from the TV. He sniffed and rolled onto his side, holding the pillow close to him. It was something at least.

'Honey Bee!' Karkat called as they came into the room. 'I'm back! Oh... What's wrong, love?'

Sollux looked up from over the pillow, reaching his hand out to him. "Come here..." he said quietly, his voice full of tension.

The nurse wheeled him over and put him in the bed. "Call if ya need me!" The man waved as he left.

'What's wrong love?' Karkat asked, carefully curling with up Sollux.

"My wound got infected again." he said softly, looking at him. "They had to like... Thkweeze it." he cringed. "It hurt tho bad..."

'Oh... You poor baby.' Karkat pouted, rubbing Sollux's cheek with his thumb. 'Are you feeling any better?'

"A little." he replied, his voice quiet. "I ache..."

Karkat scooted up a little, kissing Sollux gently. 'Now?'


	40. Chapter 40

Gamzee smiled, watching Tavros eat his fruit. "Is it good Tav?"

Tavros nodded, munching on some strawberries.

"I'm glad." Gamzee grinned, running his hand through Stavros's hair.

Tavros smiled and turned to look at him. "Nnnn these horns are going to get annoying." he said, whacking one of them against the bed. "Oww..."

"Aw Tav..." Gamzee sighed as he crawled up on the bed. "That's why I sit behind you like this and keep them from hitting things."

Tavros frowned. "But what happens when I uhhh, turn my head and they hit you..." he frowned.

"I'm the king of the Subjugglators. I think I can handle a horn to the face. Especially from you." Gamzee laughed.

Tavros laughed nervously. "Aww thanks Gamzee." he grinned, leaning back on him.

"Mmmm." Gamzee smiled as he wrapped his arms around Tavros. "I love you Tavbro."

"I love you too Gamzee." he smiled, settling down in his lap to watch TV.

Gamzee kiss Tavros' cheek gently. "What's on TV?"

Tavros shrugged. "Mindless stuff I think." he said, flipping the channel. "I really don't like TV all that much."

"Me either." Gamzee sighed. "Wait! That had clowns! Can we watch that?" He pointed at the TV.

Tavros flipped the channel back. They were airing Cirque du Soleil. Tavros stared in awe. "W-

Woah..."

"That is so motherfucking awesome! It's like a motherfucking miracle!" Gamzee said, his eyes glued to the screen.

Tavros watched in awe. "Oh... Oh wow..." he gasped, staring at the screen.

"Would you like to go one day Tav?" Gamzee asked softly.

Tavros gasped. "A-Are you serious?!" he cried out, turning around, trying not to hit Gamzee in the face.

"Of course I'm serious!" Gamzee smiled. "Now answer the question."

Tavros nodded feverishly. "Y-Yeah!" he said, smiling brightly.

"Good." Gamzee smiled, kissing his cheek gently.

* * *

><p>"Nnn yeah." Sollux whispered, leaning against him.<p>

'Yay!' Karkat smiled. 'Hopefully it gets better soon. I don't want to leave without you.' Karkat

kissed the top of his matesprit's head.

Sollux nodded. "I hope it will all be retholved thoon."

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux's shoulders. 'I can't wait until you're all healed. I bet that

scar is going to look hot.' He made a small giggling like noise as he thought the latter.

Sollux pouted. "It'd be another to add to my already obviouth collection of them." he said,

kissing the side of Karkat's head.

'I was meaning that as a compliment you nooksniffer.' Karkat pouted.

"I'm not a nookthniffer" he said, frowning.

'You know what I mean...' Karkat pouted. 'I'm sorry that I called you a nooksniffer.'

"It'th okay." he said quietly, his cheeks pink. "You're tho kind." he smiled, gently touching his

cheek. "I love you."

'I'm a dick and we both know it.' Karkat gave him one of those looks that say "Don't deny it." 'I love you too Honey Bee.'

Sollux smiled and cuddled up with him. "I'm tired." he whispered. "Mmmm..." he hummed.

'Then nap Sollux.' Karkat ran his fingers through Sollux's hair, being careful of his horns. 'This feels... Right... Not the being in the hospital but you having horns again.'

Sollux fell asleep quickly in Karkat's arms.

Karkat smiled, playing with Sollux's hair as he slept. 'I hope that the nightmares have stopped. My poor baby needs a lot of rest.'

* * *

><p>Feferi was in a checkup with the OBGYN and had Eridan with her. She smiled at him when the doctor confirmed that the grub was absolutely perfect.<p>

Eridan grinned. "Yay." he wrapped his arms around her and held her. "Mmmm baby I'm so happy for you."

"I'm so happy that everything is okay." Feferi smiled. "Only 3 more months Eri!"

Eridan smiled. "Three more months. Wwe need to get the nursery done and stuff." he said, grinning.

"Kanaya said that she would be happy to help with it! Our grub is going to have most stylish room ever!" She laughed.

"You two are one of the cutest pairs of expecting parents that I have ever met! How long have you two been married?" The nurse asked.

"Married?" Feferi asked. "We're matesprits..."

"Wwhat does married mean?" Eridan asked, tilting his head.

"Sorry. I forgot that trolls don't know what marriage is. Um... It's like dedicating yourself to one person using a ritual." The nurse explained.

"But I've always only been Eri's..." Feferi said, confused.

"The nice thing about being married is having a symbol of the others love for you in the form of a ring. It also let's other people know that you are in a permanent relationship. Well... That's what it's supposed to mean but so many people divorce, or break the marriage." She sighed. "I just figured you two were married since you share the same last name and are having a... Grub?"

Feferi smiled.

Eridan frowned. "Wwell I could givve her a ring if I wwanted to. Being a matesprit means you... Don't really havve to do anythin special for it. Wwe wwill be together until forevver." he smiled.

"I don't need a ring Eri. I'm just happy to call you mine!" Feferi smiled.

Eridan flushed purple. "Aww... That's really swweet Fef." he smiled and laced his fingers with hers.

"You're the sweet one Eri!" She giggled, squeezing his hand gently.

Eridan smiled. He sat down, letting Feferi sit next to him.

Feferi leaned against him. "I would love some ice cream right about now..." She sighed softly.

Eridan frowned. "Do you wwant me to go get you some?"

"Eri... You just woke up. Besides, I don't really need the ice cream. It's just a craving." Feferi smiled at him. "It's fine."

Eridan smiled. "I knoww." He said, "But if you wwant it I'll get it for you."

"Eri. You need to rest." She smiled softly as a nurse came in.

"Eridan Ampora? The doctor wants to do a check up on you." The nurse said. "If you will follow me."

"Can I come?" Feferi asked.

"Of course!" the nurse said.

Eridan stood, his feet a little sore, but managed to get up on his own. He walked out and smiled, holding Feferi's hand.

"It will just be a simple checkup to see if you are fit to be released since Feferi is already." The nurse informed the pair.

"I'm okay to be released?" Feferi asked. "Oh, Eri! I hope you are too!"

Eridan nodded. "Alright." he replied.

Eridan's checkup went well and Feferi was so happy to know that her matesprit was completely fine, minus a couple scrapes and bruises.

"You both are free to be released. I'll go get the papers." The nurse smiled.

"Eri! We get to go home!" Feferi smiled, wrapping her arms around him.

Eridan smiled. "I'm so happy." he said quietly, holding her close. He could feel her stomach against his hip. "Mmmm Fef I lovve you so much."

"I glub you too, Erifin!" Feferi smiled at him.

Eridan cringed slightly. "Erifin?" he laughed. "That's kinda cute, Fef. Glub glub."

She giggled. "It had to be done!" Feferi smiled up at him as she laid her head against his shoulder. "I'm so excited Eri! I can't wait to get home!" She wanted to get back to their house and cuddle on their couch. "Oh! I forgot to tell you, Kanaya was released this morning. Maybe we can start on the nursery tomorrow."

"Yeah!" he said, grinning. "I think so." he smiled. "Let's do all wwe can."

Feferi leaned up, kissing Eridan's cheek gently. "I love you." She giggled as she pulled back, keeping her arms around his waist. "You are going to be such an amazing father!"

"I really hope so." he said, smiling brightly. They headed out of the hospital.

"You will! I can't wait to meet our grub!" She smiled as they walked out. The nurse had been nice enough to call a cheap cab to take them back to their apartment. Once they arrived, Feferi started on dinner. "How does eggplant parmesan sound for dinner?"

"Sounds wwonderful." he said, smiling. "Anyfin I can do for you?"

"Cut the onions?" Feferi asked softly. "That ice cream is still sounding really good..."

"Then I'll go to the store and get some okay?" he smiled. "Let me cut the onions first though." he got into the fridge, getting the onion out before starting to cut it.

"Thanks!" She smiled as she sliced the eggplant. "Can you also pick up some more cheese? I think we're almost out."

"Yup." he said, grabbing his keys. "I'll be back in a bit. What kind of ice cream do you wwant?"

"Peach!" Feferi grinned, setting the knife down. "Come here first."

Eridan stepped towards her, his arms wrapping around her. "Mmmm" he hummed softly, his voice a deep hum against her fin shaped ears.

Feferi kissed him gently. "Be safe. I love you." She kissed him again before releasing him to go get what they needed.

Eridan headed to the store, getting whatever it was they needed. Peach ice cream and cheese. He walked up and paid for it before going back to the car and heading back.

Feferi made all the preparations she could while waiting for Eridan to return. Softly, she hummed to herself as she cooked. Along with the eggplant parmesan, she had made a spinach and orange salad with a rosemary olive oil dressing. "I hope he likes this!" She smiled.

Eridan returned to the condo, climbing up the stairs with the bags in hand. He opened the door. "Mmm... Fef that smells wwonderful."

"I'm glad!" She smiled, walking over and grabbing the bag. "Can you get the table ready while I put this away?" She asked walking toward the kitchen.

Eridan nodded, getting out the necessary things to set the table.

A few minutes later, she pulled the eggplant parmesan from the oven and sat it down on the table along with the salad. "Eridan! Dinner's done!" She called.

Eridan smiled, walking back into the kitchen. "Here let me help you." he said, grabbing the two plates.

"I know that I've been talking about the grub a lot lately but I'm just so excited! I wonder if it is a boy or a girl? Should we give it an Alternian name or an Earth name? There are so many things to think about for such a small creature..." She smiled as she sat at the table. "I just can't stop thinking about it."

Eridan smiled. "I knoww, I knoww." he replied, his voice soft. "Wwe'll think of somefin." he grinned quietly, smiling as he shifted in his chair. "Fef I'm so excited and stuff. You have no idea."

Feferi giggled, happy to see Eridan excited about this whole ordeal. She couldn't wait to meet the child but at the same time she was nervous. This was the first time that she had ever heard of a female troll giving birth besides the mother grub. Not knowing what to expect is what scared her but she knew that Kanaya and Eridan would be there, so that calmed her slightly.

Eridan gently squeezed her hand across the table. "You'll be okay." He said, grinning. "Wwe wwill be fin Fef."

"I know!" She smiled. Softly, she squeezed his hand. "I love you Eri!"

"I lovve you too." he said. They finished eating and Eridan started cleaning up, washing all the dishes, putting everything into the dishwasher. "Let's go relax." he said, smiling.

Feferi wrapped her thin arms around him. "Yeah." She said softly, nodding. "What should we do? Watch TV or listen to music? We got that new classical cd."

"Uhhh..." he thought about it for a moment. "Listen to music."

"I'll go put it in, you get comfy and prepare to be snuggled!" She giggled as she walked over to their cd player.

Eridan giggled and curled up in bed, his voice quiet as he hummed, stretching out.

Feferi put the cd in and pushed play before walking over to her matesprit, laying down beside him and wrapping her arms around him. "You're so warm Eri."

"Mmmm." he hummed. "You're wwarm too." he smiled.

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "I love you!"

Eridan smiled. "I lovve you too." he said. "So much." he grinned and held her close, resting his head on the pillow behind him. He pulled her head onto his stomach. "Mmm. This music is nice." he said, running his fingers through her hair.

"It is. Very relaxing." She smiled, playing with the hem of his shirt. "I wonder if the grub will like music like this. What do you think Eri?"

"It's possible." he said, smiling. "I wwould hope so." he said, rubbing her stomach. "I really enjoy this."

"Oh! My ice cream! I'll be right back Eri!" Feferi smiled, getting off the bed carefully before making her way to the kitchen.

Eridan continued to rest, laid out on the bed, smiling. He rested, closing his eyes, breathing quietly.

Feferi grabbed her ice cream and a spoon and went back to the bed, snuggling up with Eridan and opening the small carton. "This is so yummy!" She smiled.

Eridan smiled. "May I havve a little bite?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

Feferi gathered some on the spoon and held it in front of Eridan's mouth. "Say 'Ah.'" She smiled.

Eridan opened his mouth, his fangs sparkling. "Aahh~" he hummed.

She fed him the ice cream. "Isn't it yummy?" Feferi smiled before taking a bite of it herself.

Eridan smiled. "Yeah!" he said, grinning. "Mmm... Wwould you like to go swwimmin' tomorroww?" he asked. "There's a natural salt wwater pool here. They just built it." he smiled.

"That sounds like fun!" Feferi smiled at him. "I wonder if it's going to be warm tomorrow."

Eridan smiled. "That'd be nice." he said, grinning. "I'd like to see. I'll check the newws tomorroww."

"Thanks Eri. You take such good care of me." Feferi smiled, taking another bite of the ice cream. "Mmmmmmm."

The pair rested and curled up in bed together. The next morning, Eridan was up early, reading the newspaper at the table, resting his legs in the chair that Feferi usually sat in. He sat with his cup, sipping coffee.

Feferi shifted before opening her eyes. "Eri?" Slowly, she got off the bed and walked into the kitchen. "Morning Eri." She smiled softly, rubbing her eyes with a small yawn.

"Mornin Fef." he said, sipping his coffee. "Let me get you some juice." he set the paper down, going to pull the chair out for Feferi.

"Thanks Eri." She sat down, yawning softly again as she scooted the paper in front of her. "What's the weather supposed to be like today?"

"Wwarm and sunny." he said, smiling. "The wwater wwill feel nice." he said, smiling brightly. He mentally cursed himself for the stutter he had. Feferi didn't seem to care.

"That will be nice. I'm so excited!" Feferi smiled at him. "Do we have any orange juice? I would really like some of that."

"Yeah." he opened the fridge and got out some orange juice and a glass. "Here you are princess." he said, smiling as he set the glass down, gently kissing her cheek. "Did you sleep wwell?"

Feferi giggled. "I did, my prince. How did you sleep?"

"I slept fine." he said, smiling. "Nice and wwarm."

"Good! Thank you!" She smiled, taking a sip of the juice. "What time do you want to leave for the pool?"

"Hmmm... I think about noon." he said softly, his voice quiet as he sat back down with his coffee. "I figured wwe could eat lunch down there."

"That sounds nice. It also, sounds like a date." Feferi smiled. "There is that nice little cafe down there. I think they have salmon."

"That sounds wwonderful." he smiled and took her hand. "I'll go get a bag together. I think wwe should eat after wwe swwim." he said, smiling. "I hope the pool isn't covered in wwrigglers."

"It's not summer yet and they would be in school." Feferi said. "Oh... Today is a weekend... I forgot." She giggled. "I do agree with eating after swimming."

"Maybe wwe should go a little early?" he said, smiling. "Let me go get things. Wwhat swwimsuit do you want to wwear?" he asked, grinning.

"The pink one with the purple polka dots!" Feferi smiled at him sipping her juice. "Can you grab my goggles too?"

Eridan nodded. "I'll go get things." he said, walking into the other room. He picked up Feferi's swimsuit, goggles, a few towels, his own swimming trunks, and a bag to shove it all in. He grinned, walking back out. "Here wwe go." he said, grinning. "Wwe wwill be ready to go as soon as wwe get ready."

"I should wear the cute pink dress that Kanaya got me a while ago." Feferi smiled, making her way into the bedroom and closet, grabbing the dress. "Do you think this will look okay?" She asked Eridan, holding the dress in front of her.

"Yeah." he said, grinning. "I think it wwill look wwonderfin Fef." he said, grinning a fang filled smile. "I'm so fuckin excited Fef. I miss being in the wwater so much."

"Me too!" She smiled widely as she changed into the dress. "My fins have felt so dry since we got them back."

Eridan nodded, pulling off his clothing. His gills flared from his sides. "Mmm...Yeah. Mine too." he pulled another shirt on, admiring the fins on his elbows. "I miss swwiming." he said, grinning. "The last time I swwam, I think wwas on Alternia..." he grinned.

"Same for me I think." She tapped her chin. "This is so nice. I miss swimming with you."

"It's so glubbin nice." he smiled, grinning. "Let's go." he said, wiggling around a bit, pulling on his swim trunks. "I hope wwe don't get stared at."

"Me too." Feferi smiled. "Can you zip me up?" She asked, turning around.

He walked over, gently zipping up the back of the dress with ease. Her stomach wasn't very big, but that was natural with a grub. "Mmm... I lovve you."

"I love you too Eri." She smiled, turning back around and wrapping her arms around him. "I hope the grub has your eyes..." Feferi smiled, looking Eridan in the eyes. "I love your eyes."

"Awww." he smiled, his face lighting up. "I hope so too." he said, his cheeks flushing purple. "Mmm..." he touched her face. "But your eyes are also so beautiful."

Feferi's face turned a bright pink. "Eri... That's so sweet!" She smiled, leaning up and kissing him gently. "I'm so lucky to have the sweetest matesprit in the world!"

Eridan grinned, his voice quiet as he hummed against Feferi's cheek, his face against hers. "Mmm... Let's head down to the pool." he said, grinning.

Feferi nodded, grabbing Eridan's hand and walking with him to the car. "It feels so nice out today!"

"It does!" he said, grinning. "It wwill feel wwonderful in the pool." he said, smirking. "My gills need a breath."

"Mine too!" Feferi smiled. "I think it will feel good for the grub." She looked down at her growing belly. "I can't wait for all of us to go swimming together."

"Yeah." he smiled. "Wwe wwill have to teach her to breath under wwater." he smiled. "Like wwe do."

"Do you think it's a girl? What are you going to do if it's a boy?" Feferi giggled. "Aw! Does Eri want a little girl?"

"A girl wwould be cute. A boy wwould too." he smiled widely. "It wwould be nice either way. A girl wwould be nice though." he took her hand.

"So Eri wants a girl." She smiled at him. "I heard this name and I really like it but it's an Earth name... I think its gender neutral."

"Wwhat name?" he asked, tilting his head. "Wwhat about a middle name? I hear humans have middle names... That goes between the twwo."

"Addison. I heard a woman calling a little girl that at work and I thought it was cute! I don't know if I would use a middle name..." Feferi said. "Do you like the name Addison, Eri?"

"I do!" he smiled. "It's cute." he giggled, giving her hand a squeeze. "That's adorable. Addison Ampora. It flowws wwell."

"Really Eri?" She squealed. "I'm so happy!" Feferi smiled, a wide grin on her face. "I'm so happy you like it!"

Eridan squeezed Feferi's hand. They had arrived at the pool. Eridan kicked off his shoes. The pool was 11 feet deep at the end, which was wonderful. Eridan slipped into the water, putting his glasses on his towel before delving in, his gills flaring in the cool water. It wasn't fresh salt water, but it was clean and clear. He swam down to the bottom, settling at the bottom.

Feferi stripped herself of her dress, she exchanged her glasses for her goggles and went over to the pool, her fins fluttering with anticipation of the cool water. She lowered herself in, shivering with happiness. "This is so nice." Feferi smiled at Eridan as she swam down to him. "Hi Eri!"

Eridan grinned. "It is." he said, swimming around. "We can't stay under too long before they start getting wworried." he pushed off the bottom, pushing towards the surface.

Feferi followed him to the surface. "So much better!" She giggled, taking his hand. "Do you remember how we used to race? That was always fun."

"Yeah." he looked down at his fingers, watching his fingers spread out with purple webbing. "Mmm this feels refreshing."

Feferi giggled as she heard some children get into the pool.

"Mommy... What's that?" a child asked.

"Oh... That's a troll, dear. So stay on this end of the pool." The woman said. Feferi looked over, seeing the fear in the woman's eyes as she led her child to the shallow end of the pool.

"Eri... Are we scary?" Feferi asked softly.

"I..." he frowned, looking at her. "I think... Maybe." he said, looking down. "Our horns... Probably are... And our teeth."

Feferi sighed as she let herself sink back into the water. It upset her to think that people thought of her as scary. "That's sad..."

"Yeah..." he sunk back under the water, gently wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay." he said, frowning. "It'll be okay." he frowning. "Do you wwant me to talk to them?"

"I don't think it would do anything but we can try if you want..." She said softly. "I don't want them to be scared of us..."

"Hmm..." he frowned. "Let's try and get some Sun." he smiled and pushed himself out of the water, pulling himself up over the edge. "Mmm... So wwarm." he said, leaning back before getting up, grabbing his towel, wrapping it around his chest, hiding his gills.

Feferi nodded and got out of the pool after him. "Can you hand me my towel, Eri? I'm going to go introduce myself..." She looked over at the group of humans on the other side of the pool.

Eridan nodded, handing her the towel. "Here you are my princess." he grinned, smiling. He gently reached over, rubbing her stomach. It was obvious now that it was swollen. He glanced over at the humans.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." She smiled before making her way over to the group of humans. "Hi! My name is Feferi. I just wanted to come introduce myself."

The human woman looked frightened and taken aback. "Mary Weiss." she said, her voice quiet. Her daughter in the pool splashed about a little, almost gawking at Feferi, and a little more at Eridan.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry if we scared you." Feferi tried not to show a lot of her teeth as she smiled. "I noticed that you have a little girl... Maybe you can give me some pointers on raising a child... I'm a few months from having my first and I want to do what I can to give them a good life."

"I... Don't feel comfortable doing that." she smiled weakly. "Your race is different than ours... I don't think our... Skills... When it comes to raising children." She offered yet another pitiful smile.

Eridan looked over, his eyes slightly narrow. He didn't want to say anything.

Feferi looked shocked. "Oh... Well... I don't think it really has anything to do with raising a child... But... It was nice meeting you." She smiled a small smile before going back over to Eridan. "I don't understand Eri..."

Eridan frowned. "I... Don't either Fef..." he said quietly, frowning as he put an arm around her. "I'm sorry they think that wway... And it's really no wway to treat a princess..."

"I'm not a princess here..." She said softly. "Eri... Do you think I'll make a good mom?"

"Oh course you wwill, Fef!" he exclaimed, his voice getting a little bit loud. He winced at the echo of it around the pool. "Fef... Don't wworry about it. Wwe havve Kan to help us ya knoww?"

"Thanks Eri!" She smiled, hugging him. "I love you so much Eri!"

Eridan smiled. "Wwe can go back into the wwater if you wwant." he said, smiling. "I don't mind."

"Yeah. Carry me?" Feferi asked, wrapping her arms loosely around Eridan's neck. "Please?"

Eridan smiled. He put his towel down, showing his gills again as he gently picked up Feferi, carrying her to the stairs. They entered near the shallow end. Gently walking and making their way back over to the deep end before Eridan dove.

Feferi giggled as they went under the water. "It's been too long!" She laughed softly, moving away from Eridan but keeping a grip on his hand. "Don't you agree?"

"Yes." he replied, a grin on his features, his voice soft and quiet under the water. It felt so good. He opened his gills and took one long breath of salt water, smiling. "This feels so glubbin good."

Feferi twirled into Eridan's arms. "The most amazing part is having you here!" She giggled holding him close.

"I think so." he said, grinning widely as he held onto her. "Let me knoww wwhen you're getting hungry. I'm kinda hungry myself." he said, smiling. "Just let me knoww and wwe'll go get dressed and get food."

"Now that you mention it. I'm a little hungry." Feferi said softly. "Let's go to that cafe that I saw down the street. It looks good."

Eridan nodded. He took a few more breaths of fresh water before swimming to the surface, pulling himself out of the water.

Feferi smiled as she climbed from the pool, her long hair soaking wet. She went over to their stuff and started to gently towel the area by her gills. "This was nice."

The woman stared at them as Eridan dried his hair and body, pulling a shirt on over his torso. "Mmm.." he sat down in the chair, working on getting his shorts dry enough.

"Eri... Can you help with my hair? I should reely get it trimmed or something..." Feferi sighed, rubbing the area around her horns with the towel.

Eridan stood up, gently taking the towel and drying part of her hair. "Wwe could braid it or somefin." he said, frowning. "Wwe wwill havve to do somefin for wwhen the grub is born."

"Help me?" She asked looking back at him. "I think I will have Kanaya help me decide on a cut later. But for right now, I think braiding it is good."

Eridan sat down and pulled Feferi close to him. He worked on braiding a big chunk of her hair before working on another. "I think a cut wwould be nice." he smiled.

After a few minutes, Eridan had finished braiding Feferi's hair. "Thanks Eri! You are amazing!" She smiled hugging him tightly. "Now let's go get some food. I'm glubbin starving!"

"Same." he grabbed his bag and stuffed his towel in it. "Let's go."

Feferi grabbed her bag and followed Eridan to the car, trying not to let the harsh gaze of the woman, Mary Weiss, bother her. 'Eri said I would make a good mom and I trust Eri.'

* * *

><p>Karkat shifted. "Sollux? Are you awake, love?" He asked softly, his voice horribly raspy.<p>

"Nnn..." Sollux shifted slightly. Light was filtering through the windows of the hospital room. "Nnnn..." it was a soft noise, but it was confirmation.

Karkat smiled. 'I told you that I sounded like a frog.' He gently moved some of Sollux's hair from his eyes. 'How do you feel?'

Sollux smiled. "I feel... Okay." he said. "My thtomach thtill hurtth, but ith okay."

'Aww... Honey Bee...' Karkat frowned a little. 'I didn't hurt you last night, did I? I'm sorry if I did. I told you it wasn't a good idea.'

Sollux shook his head. "No, no." he whispered. "It wath fine, I jutht hurt ith all." he smiled weakly. "I'll be fine."

'Are you sure? I mean, I move around a lot in my sleep...' Karkat worried.

Sollux shifted. "I'm fine." he whispered, his voice soft. "Trutht me." He rested his head against Karkat's gently.

'Okay...' Karkat sighed. 'I just don't want to hurt you anymore than you are already...'

Sollux shifted. "I'm fine." he moved to sit up, gently wincing in pain. He reassured Karkat and

shifted again, now sitting completely upright.

'I just want to be sure, love. It's my fault that you got injured in the first place!' Karkat murmured. 'I love you and I just want you to be okay...'

Sollux nodded. "I know. I know." he whispered, his voice quiet. "Mmm... I'm hungry."

'Well, you're the only one who can talk and be understood...' Karkat glared at him. 'I sound like a fucking frog!'

"Do you want anything?" he asked, frowning. "I'll get you thomething."

'Tea. And maybe something to eat. I don't know... I haven't had much of an appetite.' Karkat

sighed, leaning against him gently. 'Just get me whatever you decide to eat.'

Sollux nodded, grabbing the remote, hitting the nurse call button.

"What can I do for you SolKar?" The nurse asked.

"I'd like to order food." he said. "Tea for KK, and I'll get whatever ith on thpecial."

"Not a problem. Do you want sugar or honey with your tea Karkat?" he asked.

'Honey.' Karkat smiled at Sollux.

Sollux answered for him. "Probably honey and sugar. Hith throat hurtth."

"Can do. The special tonight is a French dip sandwich with a side salad. Sound okay?" The nurse asked.

Sollux nodded. "Yeah. That thoundth fine." he said, rubbing his eyes. "Nnn... Anything really. I'm really hungry."

'I just wanted honey for my tea.' Karkat scowled a little. 'But whatever.'

"It will help your throat." he said, shaking his head. "Trutht me."

'I know. But I really just wanted honey.' Karkat said. 'I also really want to cuddle.' He smiled at Sollux.

Sollux wrapped his arm around him as close as he could. "Mmm... Yeah." he smiled, touching his cheek with his fingertips. "I like that idea too." He leaned on him. "I want to go home..." He felt a surge of emotion run through him. "I mith... Being at home."

'I know, Honey Bee but you're injured and they still want to do some more checkups on me.' Karkat sighed softly. 'I want to go home too...'

"I know, I know." he grumbled. "But I thtill want to go home." he frowned and snuggled down with him.

Karkat kissed Sollux's cheek gently. 'That's why you need to rest and not move a lot. We don't want it reopening.'

Sollux nodded a little, sighing. "Alright..." he grumbled, hearing the door open again.

The nurse walked back in. "Okay, so here is the tea and honey for Karkat and Sollux's sandwich." He pulled the table over to the bed before setting everything down. "If you need anything else, just call." He smiled as he left the room.  
>"Mmmm." Karkat hummed as he sipped at his tea. 'This is good.'<br>Sollux smiled, "I'm glad." He said quietly, his voice soft and husky. He cleared his throat a little, feeling his stomach lurch. "Ugh…" He whimpered, sitting up. He pulled the table closer to himself, his movements full of effort. He started eating, munching quietly, trying to avoid biting himself.

Karkat's eyes were filled with worry as he watched his matesprit eat. 'You okay?' He asked quietly. 'Does it hurt?' He felt horrible when Sollux nodded his head but they continued to cuddle.

* * *

><p>"Fef?" he asked, looking over at her. "Are you okay?"<p>

"Why wouldn't I be Eri? The sun is shining and you're here!" She smiled, rubbing his shoulder. "I'm ecstatic!"

Eridan smiled. "I'm glad, Fef." he said, grinning as they walked the distance to the cafe.

"That's it up there Eri!" She smiled, hopping up and down a little.

Eridan grinned. "Good. I'm glubbin starvin." he grinned wider as they stepped into the shop.

The pair made their way over to the cafe and waited in the short line to be seated. They were placed by the fountain. "This is so nice! I'm so glad we came here!"

Eridan smiled. "This is the best date evver." he said, his smile sweet.

"Any date with you is the best date ever!" Feferi smiled, grabbing Eridan's hand. "I'm kinda glad to see your purple eyes again. They make me happy."

Eridan smiled. "That makes me happy to hear you say that, Fef. I'vve missed your eyes so much. They're beautiful."

Feferi smiled, her eyes shining in the loving light of being with her matesprit. "That's so sweet Eri!"

"I'm only sayin the truth, Fef." he smiled and gently held her hands.

The waitress came over to Eridan and Feferi's table. "Hello! My name is Amanda and I will be your server this afternoon. Can I get drink orders?"

"I wwill havve a wwater and just a regular coffee." he said, smiling. "Cream and sugar." He looked up at Feferi.

"I would like the orange juice." Feferi smiled as the waitress made a small note of the drink orders and hurried to fill it.

Eridan smiled, gently holding his hand out for Feferi to take.

Eridan and Feferi sat and talked until they were ready to order their food. "They have salmon!" She smiled as she ordered her meal. "I would like the salmon with a side salad." She told the waitress. "Eri?"

"I wwill have the same." he replied, smiling.

The waitress smiled. "Not a problem." She said before going off to give the order to the chef.

Eridan grinned. "This is so nice. I lovve being able to enjoy the day... A day where I don't havve to wwork and deal wwith kids." he grinned and held Feferi's hand tight. "It's wwonderful."

"You know that you won't be able to get away from them after the grub is born." Feferi laughed. "Are you prepared to deal with that?" She smirked.

"Yeah, I am." he smiled. "I wwill do my best to be the greatest dad evver."

"I think you'll be the greatest dad ever!" Feferi smiled. "I know you will shower the grub with love and attention and honestly, I can't picture there being a better father!"

Eridan grinned. "Thanks Fef." he replied, his smile growing wider. "That means a lot."

Soon enough, their food came. Feferi smiled at the waitress as she sat her food down. "Thank you!" She said softly before starting to eat. The first bite of the salmon was full of flavor. "This is really good!" She smiled looking over at Eridan.

Eridan smiled. "I'm glad." He grinned and took a bite. "Oh my cod, this is glubbin' amazin'!" He ate quietly, sipping down his water and coffee. He finished quickly, pushing the plate forward, wiping his mouth on his napkin.

Feferi was a little slower to finish her meal but once she did, they paid for it and went back home to relax in each other's presence.

Soon it was close to time for Feferi to have the grub. "Eri…. I'm so excited! The grub will be here any day now!" She giggled, rubbing her swollen belly. Gently, she leaned against him. "Are you ready?"

Eridan nodded profusely, his grin widening. "Wwe have evverythin we need right?" He asked, his hand gently moving to Feferi's stomach.

* * *

><p>A few days passed and both were released and Sollux's wound was healing well. The pair decided that they wanted to move out of the small apartment and started looking for a house.<p>

Sollux grumbled to himself. They had found the perfect house. Sollux spent a lot of time on painting, using his psionics for extra hands. He wanted to make it their own. They had picked warm shades of color with cool contrasting. Sollux wasn't, by far, the best painter, but he knew he could do what he could. They moved their stuff in by themselves, unpacking most of the way before collapsing together on the new couch. Things were lovely. They got an urgent phone call the next day.

Karkat answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi Karkat! It's Feferi. I know you wanted to know when the grub was coming and I think it's on…." She winced at a contraction. "It's on its way." She said softly after the contraction passed.

"Okay! Congrats! Call me later." Karkat smiled as he hung up.

Sollux looked over at him, his smile widening.

Eridan rushed around, helping Feferi into the birthing tub.

Feferi situated herself into the tub, her hands resting on support beams behind her.

Eridan ran his fingers through her hair as Kanaya positioned herself in the water, the water soaking the bottom half of her swimsuit. The water was salty.

"Eridan." Kanaya said, stepping back and pulling herself out of the water. "Get in and I will guide you through what to do."

"Oh cod…" Eridan frowned, stripping down to his swim trunks, wanting to be decent for Kanaya at least. He climbed into the water, feeling it fill his gills.

"Now." Kanaya said softly. "Position yourself in the position we practiced. The grub will be arriving any moment now."

Feferi let out a skree of pain as a contraction ripped through her.

Eridan nodded, positioning himself in the water, waiting.

Before long, a white and magenta sack was pushed into the water. Eridan caught it and gently sat it down on the bottom of the pool.

It writhed and squirmed before the white mucus began to come off, revealing the soft shelled grub. Eridan scooped it up, bringing it to the surface, letting it breathe its first breath of air.

"Great job." Kanaya said, her eyes filled with the utmost glee as she gently took the grub and wrapped him in a blanket. She handed the grub to Eridan before he carried it to Feferi.

"Cod, Fef." He said, gently putting the grub in her arms. "This… Is the glubbin' happiest day of my life."

"Mine too." She smiled softly, before looking down at the grub in her arms. "Hi Addison! I'm your mommy." She giggled softly. "Eri… Can you believe that we… We created this…"

"It's glubbin' amazin'." He replied, kissing her head. "I'm so proud of you, Fef." He said quietly, looking down into the grub's closed eyes. Slowly it opened them, showing gray eyes. "His hair looks kinda like mine." He laughed a bit.


	41. Chapter 41

Sollux and Karkat had moved in entirely to their new house. It was a 2 story house with an unfurnished basement. Sollux swore he's finish it once he learned how. They had painted and decorated nicely. Their kitchen was loaded. It had everything they needed for Karkat to cook glorious meals.

Karkat continued to go to school every day. Gamzee and Tavros came and picked him up before leaving. Sollux moved about the house doing small things like clean and pick up in nothing but pajama bottoms and socks.

The doorbell rang. Sollux went to go grab a shirt, the scars on his stomach and back looked unsightly. He pulled on his black Gemini shirt. It matched the black socks and striped bee pajama bottoms.

"Yeth?" He said as he opened the door.

"Hi. My family just moved here and we were hoping to have some neighbors over for dinner tonight. Would you be interested?" The girl asked.

'Oh how sweet.' Sollux thought. "I will have to athk my matethprit when he geth home from thchool, but I would love to. Thank you for the invitation." He smiled a fangy smile, blinking his two toned eyes. "What'th you name? I'm Thollukth Captor."

"Katherine Smith but everyone calls me Katie." She smiled. "Dinner will be at 7. See ya then." She smiled as she walked away. 'He's hot….' She thought to herself. 'I hope matesprit means roommate.'

Sollux watched her go. "Huh." He shut the door. "Katie… Thmith… That'th eathy." He picked up his cell phone. "Hey KK. There ii2 thii2 giirl acro22 the 2treet who want2 two have u2 over for diinner. Let me know what you thiink and Ii'll go tell her or 2omethiing." He hit send and flopped down on the couch. "Maybe I thould go on a walk later…"

Karkat got the message as he was waiting for water to boil, literally. "SOUNDS FUN." He sent back. 'I'm starting to hate boiling vegetables….' He thought to himself.

"Iit2 at 2even. You get home at five, riight?" He asked, sending the message. Sollux got up and went into the bedroom, changing into a pair of black pants, keeping the same shirt on. He pulled on his shoes, stuffing his phone in his pocket and grabbing his keys before walking out. He walked into the yard, seeing a flying disk land in the yard. He looked up, seeing that same girl smiling back at him, coming to get the disk.

"Throw it back." Katie smiled at the troll.

Sollux looked down at it. "Huh?" He picked it up and threw it over his head, making it land in the middle of the street. "Oopth…"

Katie giggled as she went to grab the Frisbee. "Have you never played Frisbee before, Sollux?" She asked. "Why don't you come play with us?"

Sollux blinked. "Thrii... Thhhhhhrriii... Thriithpby?" he stuck out his tongue a little bit, frowning. "What ith that...?"

"This is a Frisbee." Katie giggled, holding up the disk. "That was really cute by the way." She walked over to him, putting it in his hand. "Throw it like this." She imitated throwing the Frisbee for him. "Now you do it."

Sollux blinked and held it like she had, giving it a toss. It went a whole three feet before flopping on the ground. "That thucked."

"Try again with a little more force." She giggled as went and grabbed the Frisbee. "Here."

Sollux took it and tried it again, throwing it just to the edge of the girls' yard. "There we go." he smirked a little at himself, brushing his hair out of his face. "Heh."

"Come play with us!" Katie giggled, grabbing his wrist. "It'll be fun!"

Sollux winced a little and followed. "Aaaah okay, okay." he said, stumbling after her. He kindly pulled his wrist away, frowning lightly as he followed her across the street. "Whoth the wriggler?" he asked. "Ith that yourth? Aren't you a little young to have a wriggler?"

"Wriggler? What's a wriggler?" Katie asked, tilting her head.

"Uhhh... Oh gog... Uh..." he frowned. "A... A little human. Grub... No, no. Thath not it..." he scowled. "Jutht a little human."

"That's my little brother." Katie giggled. "You thought he was my kid! That's funny Sollux." She laughed a little, running her hand down his arm.

Sollux didn't really react much to the gesture. He was used to people being feely on him, but it wasn't anything he hadn't encountered before. "Brother?" he never had siblings, obviously. Grubs never did. "Oh. Gueth I don't know what that feelth like. I wath alwayth by mythelf." he shrugged his shoulders.

"He can be a pain but he's my little brother and I love him." She smiled. 'I wonder if he has a girlfriend... I hope not!' She thought to herself. "Well, let's play!"

Sollux nodded. "I'll try." he said quietly, stepping back a bit, watching.

Katie threw the Frisbee to her brother and he threw it back a few times before making Sollux join in. "The point is to not let the Frisbee touch the ground. Think you can do that?"

Sollux mentally smirked. 'Of courthe I can.' he thought, 'I have fucking thionikth.' "Yeah." he said, a wicked smirk on his face. "Don't you know anything about my kind?" he laughed a little.

"Not really. I mean, I'm learning to read Alternian in school but they don't really tell us anything about trolls." Katie said, throwing the Frisbee toward him. "Like anything about troll anatomy or anything interesting."

Sollux fumbled, but caught it. "Huh?" he blinked. "You're learning Alternian? Thereth no way you can thpeak it..."

Katie paused for a moment, trying to remember one of the phrases that she had learned in school. "My little hoofbeast: Moirallegiance is magic." She said in Alternian. "We had to learn to say that because it's supposed to be popular."

Sollux smiled. "No, no itth fine, ith jutht... Wow."

"What? It's the only thing I could actually pronounce!" Katie glared at him, throwing the Frisbee fast.

Sollux burst out laughing. "Wahahahahaha!" he bent over, taking in air as he burst out laughing. "That'th hilariouth."

"Did I say it wrong? It's supposed to be like My Little Pony right?"

"Yeah. Kinda." he laughed. Ith jutht really, really funny." he laughed. "I haven't heard that in... Well... Forever"

"Don't you and your matesprit speak Alternian?" She asked. "What is troll anatomy like?"

"We do-wait what?" he blinked at her. "Uh... No?"

"What? I just want to know what troll anatomy is like! We don't get taught the cool stuff!" Katie pouted. "Please?"

"I uh... Uh..." he stumbled over his words. "I uh..." he shook his head. "Thath embarrathing..."

"What's embarrassing about it? Well then let me ask you this. How big are you?" She asked, a wide grin on her lips.

"W-W-what?" he whimpered, biting his lip. "W-What are you talking about? How big ith what? Huh?"

"Your dick." Katie said simply. "How big is your dick?"

"Wh..." he turned bright yellow. "What ith that?"

"Male trolls don't have dicks? Then how do you have sex?" She asked, almost dropping the Frisbee.

"Thekth?" He turned even darker yellow. "W-we uh... Uh... Uh..." he quivered. "Uh... We have... Partth..." he nibbled his bottom lip.

"Why are you turning yellow? Are you gonna get sick?" She asked.

"No... I'm bluthing..." he shook his head, hiding his face in his hands. 'So forward!' he thought to himself.

"Then why are you yellow?"

"My... Blood ith yellow." he frowned. "Pithh blood." He mentally cursed himself. "I'm a lowblood."

"Why is it yellow? Granted, I think it's cute but why yellow? And what do you mean by lowblood?" She asked.

"Aaaah..." he scratched his head. "I wath born with yellow blood, and I'm not going into the whole hemothpectrum."

"Oh... Hey... I think your phone is ringing..." She said softly.

Sollux felt around for his phone. "Oh..." he answered it, switching in his brain to Alternian. "KK!" he said into the phone.

"Hey Sollux! Why are you speaking in Alternian?" Karkat asked confused. "Is something wrong?"

"No... Jutht... Jutht..." he grumbled, whimpering. "Jutht thith girl from acthroth the thtreet keepth telling me to tell her about trollth and jutht... Ugh aaaah"

"Are you going to be okay love?" Karkat asked softly.

"Yeth but... But... Gog dammit talk to me in Alternian" he grumbled, raising his voice a little, clicking his tongue in frustration.

"Sorry..." Karkat replied, speaking in their native tongue. "So what is this girl asking you to tell her?"

"The athked me how big I wath. What the fuck." he grumbled and looked over at the girl, giving a blank stare.

"Like... How big your bonebulge is? Why would that matter to her?" Karkat asked. He hadn't even met this girl but he was already starting to not like her.

"So that's what Alternian sounds like..." Katie said softly.

"Who knowth." he grumbled, scratching his head. "But I gueth theth jutht curiouth. The ith thtudying Alternian at thcool." he said, grinning. "Ith kinda... I don't know. The thaid thomething and I couldn't thtop laughing."

"What did she say?" Karkat asked. "Was it something stupid?"

"My little hoofbeatht, moiraillegence ith magic." he smiled into the phone. "It doethn't require a lot of clicking tho humanth can actually thay that one." he laughed. "But it wath really funny."

"I bet. I wonder if she realized what she said..." Karkat laughed a little. "It would have been funnier if she would have said something about bonebulges..."

"No, the thaid 'dickth.' What the fuck ith a dick?" he shuddered. "Ith that like... What we had ath humanth?"

"I think so." Karkat said. "Nepeta would know more. She is like the knower of all that is porn." He laughed. "I'm so glad no one understands what I'm saying... I'm getting weird looks but anyways. Gamzee is going to be here soon to bring me home. My last class got cancelled for today."

"Okay." he said, switching back over to English. "Tho I'll thee you thoon?" he mentally cursed himself for trying to do this English speaking thing.

"Yeah." Karkat said in English. "I love you." He whispered in Alternian, knowing that it would be easier for Sollux to say back that way.

"Awww..." He grinned, switching back to his mother tongue. "I love you too." he replied, grinning. "You're tho thweet."

"I'll be home soon. Bye Honey Bee!" He grinned.

Sollux rolled his eyes and hung up the phone. "Thorry." he said to Katie, scratching the back of his head.

"Was that your matesprit person?" She asked. "That was kinda cool... Listening to you speak Alternian... I like it."

"Thankth." he said, smiling weakly. "It thuckth with thethe fangth..." he frowned, sticking out his tongue. "Guthh."

"I think it sounds cute... I like your lisp." Katie smiled at him. "By the way... How old are you?"

"Uh... 9 thweepth. I'll be 9.7 thweepth old nektht perigee."

"What? What is a sweep?" Katie asked, sitting on the ground.

"Uh... I... Don't know how to ekthplain it." he said, frowning. "I think... 2.1 yearth..."

"Which would be? I'm not very good at math..."

"I'll be..." he thought about it for a moment. "21 human yearth in about 30 dayth or tho." he blinked a little and looked at her. "Thomething like that."

"Wow... That means you get buy alcohol!" She laughed.

"Alcohol?" he tilted his head. "I don't know what that ith." He blinked his colored eyes at her. "Mm... Ath long ath ith not... I don't know." He didn't want to say Mind Honey. He shuddered at the thought. That shit was horrible... But it tasted wonderful... But it was numbing.

"It... Is a beverage that makes you feel really good." Katie said. "It's nice."

Sollux turned his nose up. "I might ... Avoid that." he frowned. "Thath what they told me about... Thomething elthe but I'm not gonna get into that." he laid back on the grass, looking up at the clouds. "It'th tho bright here."

"Well it is almost summer. We'll be opening our pool soon." Katie said, laying down beside him. "What are troll relationships like? Do you have girlfriends and boyfriends?"

Sollux laughed. "Don't athk me about that thtuff. I'm no good at it. KK ith like... Better at ekthplaining." he shrugged. "I can tell you that there are 4 quadrants."

"What are they?" Katie asked, looking at him.

Sollux laid there and looked at the sky. "Matethprit... Which I can't really ekthplain... Ith the red heart. Then thereth Kithmethith...Which ith black... Ith like... Hatred." he took a breath. "Moirail, which ith platonic friendthip... And authhh... Authhhppiithhh... Nnnnnghhh... Authpithtithe..." he cleared his throat. "That'th a mediator between the two in kithmethith quadrant... Tho they don't kill one another."

"That's interesting but why do you call your roommate, your matesprit?" She asked. "That doesn't make a lot of sense."

"Roommate?" he tilted his head. "KK ith my matethprit." he frowned, sitting up.

"So this KK chick is your... Lover?" Katie asked.

Sollux burst out laughing. "Hahahaha, yeah I gueth." he didn't hear the chick part. Hell, he didn't even know what that meant.

"What is she like?" Katie asked. "Is her name really KK or is that a nickname?"

"Thee? Oh. KK ith a guy troll." he turned bright yellow. "Ith a nickname." he frowned. "Hith name ith Karkat, but I call him KK... Ith leth thyllablth."

"You're gay!" Katie asked sitting up quickly. "Really?"

Sollux cringed, looking at her, his eyes wide. "Uh... Uh... Uh..." He didn't know what to say. He fumbled his hands in his lap instead. "Ummmm..."

"That makes so much sense..." She said. "No wonder you weren't reacting to me flirting with you..."

"Huh?" he tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. "Flirting?" He felt so stupid in this instance. "I'm thorry... Did... Did I do thomething wrong?" he frowned, looking a little taken aback. "I... I can uh... Go if you want me to..."

"No! You're fine. Seriously. I just thought that I wasn't your type but now I know it's because you don't like girls." Katie smiled at him. "There is a purple bus in your drive-way..."

Sollux grinned. "Oh!" he got up. "Here. I'll introduthe you to KK and Gamthee, and maybe Tavroth." He stood, and started walking back across the street. "KK!"

Karkat turned around hearing his name. "Sollux!" He smiled.

Katie followed beside Sollux. "He's cute..." She grinned, tapping his arm with her elbow.

Sollux smiled. "Welcome home. Tell Gam and Tav, I want them to meet our neighbor." he quirked an eyebrow.

"They were going to come in anyways. They wanted a tour of the house." Karkat smiled, pulling out Tavros' wheelchair.

"Ahhhh." Sollux smiled. "Hey. Come over." He smiled, looking at Katie.

He walked across the street, holding out his arms for Karkat.

Karkat sat his backpack down, stepping into Sollux's arms. "I love you." He said in Alternian.

"Aw! Ain't you two motherfuckers fucking adorable!" Gamzee smiled.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around Karkat. "I love you too." he said, grinning.

Tavros smiled. "Awww..." he pulled himself into the wheelchair, grinning a little bit. "Aww so cute!" he giggled.

"We went over knife techniques again. So my hands hurt." Karkat said softly before noticing the girl. "Hi. I'm Karkat. You must be the girl who invited us to dinner."

"Yeah. I'm Katie." She said looking at Karkat.

"These are our friends, Gamzee and Tavros." Karkat smiled pointing to each of them as he said their names. "You're being awfully clingy Bee. You okay?" Karkat said in Alternian.

Tavros waved weakly, smiling.

"I'm fine KK." he replied back, smiling. "Jutht mithed you."

"I was only gone for a few hours, baby..." Karkat smiled up at him. "We still have a few hours before dinner right? After we show Gam and Tav the house, let's snuggle. How does that sound?"

"Okay." he said, smiling. "That thoundth like a wonderful idea."

"Um... Katie, I'm sorry but I have to steal Sollux away for a bit. We'll be over at 7." Karkat smiled, taking Sollux's hand and walking toward the house.

"This is a nice fucking place you got here." Gamzee smiled, wheeling Tavros up to the door. "What do you think Tav?"

Sollux followed along, smiling.

Tavros felt his jaw drop. "O-Oh wow!" he said, looking around with wide eyes. "This… This is so cool."

"I'm glad you like it Tav." Karkat smiled. "I think you can tell what the rooms are supposed to be but I really want to show you my pride and joy. The kitchen." Karkat said, leading the small group to the room he mentioned. "I got to pick out everything in here."

Sollux smiled. "Itth all really nice thtuff." he said, gently wrapping his arm around Karkat. "Our bedroom ith upthtairth, tho ith the guetht bedroom."

"I can get Gamzee to carry me up the stairs." Tavros said, smiling.

Gamzee took that as a signal to pick Tavros up from his chair. The group made their way upstairs.

"Gam and Tav were thinking about spending the weekend with us. How does that sound, Sollux?" Karkat asked as the other couple explored the guest bedroom.

"That'th fine!" he said, grinning. "I don't mind at all."

Tavros reached over. "Put me on the bed. I wanna feel what the bed feels like." he said, smiling.

Gamzee sat Tavros down on the bed before crawling in himself. "This is a nice motherfucking bed that you got here." He smiled lazily. "I think we should all take a nice long nap." He snuggled up against Tavros.

"Oh come on... You guys know that Sollux and I have dinner plans tonight." Karkat smiled at them, leaning against Sollux.

Tavros smiled. "Can we come too?" he asked, his eyes brightening a little bit.

"I don't know... It's over at a neighbor's..." Karkat said softly.

"Plus I'm sure they want a little alone time since Karkat is always at school or the restaurant." Gamzee said.

"That's not what I was talking about." Karkat said. "I was talking about the fact that we were invited by neighbors to this dinner."

Tavros nodded, "I understand." he said, frowning. "G-Gamzee and I can go get some food some other place, that's totally fine." he smiled weakly.

Sollux let out a yawn. "Guh." he said, rubbing his eyes, pushing his glasses onto the top of his head.

Karkat looked at Tavros. "I'm sorry... I just don't want to impose..." He went over to the bed and hugged Tavros. "I'm sorry..."

"Kar, it's fine. I kinda had something planned for tonight anyways." Gamzee smiled. "It was supposed to be a surprise but I guess the meowbeast is out of the bag."

Tavros' face lit up. "Plan?" he asked. He turned towards Gamzee and smiled. "Plan?"

Sollux laughed. "Meowbeatht..." he smiled brightly.

"I found a really nice vegetarian place by campus." Gamzee smiled shyly. "I was going to take you there tonight for dinner since I got the prize money for that art contest."

"O-Oh" Tavros wished he could have jumped up in joy. The only thing he could really do was wriggle around on the bed. "G-Gamzee that's so sweet!"

"Does Sollux want a meowbeast?" Karkat giggled, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist.

Sollux laughed. "I have one." he leaned over and licked Karkat's cheek. "Meow."

"Perv." Karkat blushed dark purple, hiding his face in Sollux's chest.

Sollux grinned, "Mmm KK." he laughed a little, running his fingers through Karkat's hair.

"That's not what I was talking about." Karkat mumbled, gripping his lover's shirt. "So stop

teasing me, you dick."

Gamzee smiled. "Do you want to get going?" He asked Tavros, holding his arms open.

"Y-Yeah" he exclaimed, sitting up before rolling onto his stomach with a soft "Oof!"

Gamzee smiled, wrapping his arms around Tavros. "My prince." He whispered, gently kissing the younger's cheek as he lifted him off the bed.

Tavros blushed dark. "G-Gamzee..." his face flushed brown.

"You're so motherfucking adorable, Tav." Gamzee smiled, nuzzling his face into Tavros' neck.

Sollux quirked an eyebrow, kissing the top of his head. "Leth cuddle for a bit and then get ready for dinner over there." he said, smiling.

"Okay." Karkat nodded, pulling away a little. "I'm actually kinda glad that I don't have to cook tonight... My hands hurt from all the carving we did today..." He sighed softly as the group went back downstairs. "Well, I hope you two have a good time on your date!" Karkat smiled as Gamzee sat Tavros back in his chair.

"We will." Gamzee smiled.

Tavros smiled. They headed out of the house, the door closing behind them.

Sollux looked over at Karkat, his smile returning. "Come here you." he said, gently pulling Karkat close. He picked him up, with a little help of his psionics, bridal style before carrying him back up the stairs.

"Waaa." Karkat gasped as he was picked up. "What are you doing?" He asked, confused. "Is there a reason that you are picking me up like I'm a princess or something?"

"In the wordth of Terethi, printhethh Karkleth." he grinned and walked into the bedroom, putting him down on the bed before crawling across it himself, pulling Karkat close. "Mmmm... I'm thleepy."

"I hate you sometimes..." Karkat grinned. "I am not a princess. I am a king." He laughed as he ran his fingers through Sollux's hair. "You only have time for a couple hour nap. Is that going to be okay for you?"

"Mmmm... No KK, you're a princethh." he smiled. "But if you thay you're the king, what doeth that make me?" he smirked. He curled up next to Karkat, nuzzling his face against Karkat's chest. "Mmmm."

"Does it matter?" Karkat asked softly. "How am I a princess? Am I really that girly?"

"Maybe." Sollux mumbled against his shirt. "Ith pothible." he smiled against his chest. "Mmm... Leth talking, more thnuggling."

Karkat nodded, kissing the top of the Gemini's head. "I love you." He whispered, kissing by the dual set of horns. "So much."

"I love you too." he whispered before he fell asleep, his arms wrapped tightly around Karkat's torso.

Karkat watched Sollux as he slept, playing with his hair as time moved closer to 7pm. Karkat decided that he would wake Sollux up around 6:30. When the appointed time came, Karkat gently shifted so he could softly shake Sollux. "Baby... Wake up... It's almost time to go to dinner..." He whispered.

Sollux whimpered, gripping his shirt tighter, pushing his face further against the man. "Nnn..."

"Come on. You were the one who agreed to go to dinner." Karkat smiled, continuing to rub Sollux's arm. "I'll give you a kiss if you wake up."

"Nnn..." he stirred a little, pulling his face back, looking up at Karkat with weary eyes. He blinked slowly before letting them shut gently. "Nnn..."

"Get off the bed and get ready to go to dinner, then you will get your prize." Karkat smiled as he crawled off the bed to go make some coffee for his matesprit. "You have 10 minutes!"

Sollux grumbled and pushed himself out of bed. He slumped over to the closet, pulling out some different clothes to wear. "Nn..." he pulled on a black tank top and the yellow and black striped shirt he wore so often over it, letting it droop off his shoulders. He changed from PJ pants to black jeans. He didn't bother messing with his hair and shuffled downstairs, his eyes watering as he yawned big before plopping down in the kitchen.

Karkat smiled, bringing a cup of fresh coffee to the table. "Morning sleepy." He leaned down and kissed Sollux gently.

Sollux smiled a little, taking the coffee. "I think I've gotten immune to thith." he muttered softly.

"What? My kisses or the coffee?" Karkat asked, putting his arms around Sollux's shoulders. "I hope you're not immune to my kisses. That would suck."

"The coffee." he said, looking up at Karkat, his head resting back against his chest. "Doeth thith look okay?" he asked, making a hand motion to his outfit.

"You look hot." Karkat grinned, kissing Sollux's cheek. "I should probably go change into something that isn't stained and smelling like fruit guts."

Sollux grinned. "I don't know. Fruit thmellth pretty damn good to me." He laughed a little and took a sip of his coffee. "Yeah though. You might want to change." he smiled.

"What's with that smile, you pervert." Karkat glared at him as he walked out of the kitchen. 'It's not like we can do anything. We have to be across the street soon.' He thought as he walked up the stairs.

Sollux laughed. "I know, I know!" He snorted a little bit, sipping his coffee. He smiled and leaned back in his chair, letting out a sigh.

'Pervert!' Karkat laughed in his head as he changed clothes. 'I'm stealing one of your shirts.' He thought as he pulled out one of the black and yellow Gemini shirts. Slowly he walked over to the full length mirror, inspecting his outfit. Karkat smiled as he gently touched the necklace that he had made. 'I wonder if he wears it... Why do I never look to see if he does?' He thought to himself, in a momentary lapse of memory about Sollux's ability to read his mind.

"Yeth I wear your necklace." Sollux shouted from the kitchen. His fingers gently reached out to touch it. "Mmm... Yup." he said, letting his fingers play over the bumpy metal. He smiled to himself.

Karkat smiled to himself. 'Thank you.' He walked back down stairs, a wide grin on his lips. "My Sollux." He mumbled as he sat on Sollux's lap. "I love you Honey Bee."

"I love you too." he smiled, kissing his head. "Come on now. We need to go over acroth the thtreet."

"I know. We have like 10 more minutes though." He sighed, leaning against Sollux. "Can we stay like this for a couple more minutes?"

"Pthhhhtbht." he frowned. "You told me I only had ten minuteth." he pouted, wrapping his arms around Karkat gently.

"That was to get you to hurry up. You take forever when you know you have time." Karkat giggled. "I'm sorry. Will another kiss make you feel better?"

Sollux grumbled. He nodded a little, pushing his face against Karkat's shoulder. "Mmm... You thmell good."

"What do I smell like?" Karkat asked. "If you keep pushing your face into my shoulder then I can't give you a kiss to make you feel better."

Sollux shifted, gently wrapping his arms around him. "Good." he said, grinning. "You thmell wonderful."

"You don't make any sense." Karkat giggled. "Do you want a kiss or not?"

"Yeth." he said, grinning. He sat back, his back gently bumping back against the chair. "Kith me, KK."

Karkat smiled, leaning close to Sollux, kissing him gently, his hands cupping the other's face. After a moment, he pulled back. "Feel better?"

"Much." he said, grinning. "I love you." He shifted, putting his hands on Karkat's hips as he pulled him close, kissing him again. "Mmmm..." he hummed.

Karkat smiled into the kiss but pulled away after a few moments. "We need to leave soon..." He said softly, giving Sollux small kisses between words.

"I know..." he said, kissing him back, touching his cheek. "Mmm... We can do thith later too." he said, smiling. "You have thcool tomorrow though." he wet his lips and kissed him again, his tongue gently lapping at Karkat's lips.

Karkat parted his lips, shaking his head slightly. 'We need to leave... It's 6:53...'

Sollux grumbled a little bit and pulled back. "You're thuch a teathe." he frowned and kissed him again before getting up.

"Says the one who was grabbing me." Karkat glared at him. "I just wanted a kiss. Plus, I don't have school tomorrow since I'm staying to help with Addison."

Sollux grinned. "I know." he said, pulling him close. "Mmmm." he rubbed his back. "Leth go and get thith over with."

Karkat nodded as they went out the door and across the street.

"Hey guys! The festivities are going to be in the back yard." Katie smiled when she saw the pair. "Karkat... You look flushed... Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just really tired." Karkat smiled.

Sollux smirked a little. "Leth go." he pulled Karkat along, Katie tagging along behind them. They walked around to the back yard. There were a ton of people here from down and around the street. Sollux felt a little claustrophobic.

Karkat felt immediately awkward. 'Fuck...' He thought. "What are you grilling?" Karkat asked Katie.

"Just the normal stuff. Hotdogs, hamburgers, steak." She smiled.

"Hotdogs..." Karkat said, his voice with a twinge of disgust.

Sollux whacked Karkat on the arm. "Be nithe..." he said, scowling.

"Sorry..." Karkat said softly. 'I just don't like hot dogs and if you knew what was in them... You wouldn't either.'

"I... Really don't care. Eat a burger then." he frowned, his eyes narrowing.

Karkat nodded. 'I feel the need to speak in Alternian... But I won't.' "This is a nice house you have, Katie."

"Thanks." She smiled.

Sollux frowned. "Tho..." he looked down at his feet. "I didn't think there were going to be that many people here." he admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"We went to every house and left notes in the mailboxes." Katie smiled.

"Nice." Karkat smiled at him.

Sollux frowned and shuffled a little. "I wathn't ekthpecting to be the only... Two trollth here..."

"Well... There aren't any other trolls in the neighborhood..." Katie said softly.

"We'll be fine Sollux..." Karkat reassured him, putting his hand on Sollux's shoulder.

"O-Okay..." he said softly. He walked over to the tree in the backyard, leaning against it. The shade felt nice against his skin. He hated the sunlight. It was nice for being warm in, but he didn't want to burn.

Karkat sat with him. "I wonder if we have to wait to go get food or if we just go..." He asked quietly.

Sollux shrugged. He looked around, seeing a grill with a man standing in front of it presumably cooking the food. The smell of hot dogs and hamburgers filled the air, along with the smell of dirt and sand. There was a net set up and people were tossing a ball back and forth across the net. Sollux could just feel the stares he was getting.

"Ask Katie. She'll know what to do." Karkat suggested. "Besides... It seems like she has a crush on you." He laughed.

Sollux looked over at him. "And?" he frowned. "KK..." he scowled. "Did I do thomething wrong?" he said in Alternian.

"No. Just picking on you." He smiled, speaking in Alternian. "I think it's kinda cute that she has a crush on you. Especially since she met you today." He laughed. "Besides, I know you don't feel the same towards her."

"I love you and only you, KK." he said back, walking over to where Katie was. "Hey... Uh... What do we do ath far ath the food goeth?" he asked.

"Just go and get it when you get hungry." Katie said. "Is this your first cookout?"

Karkat sat by the tree, watching Sollux talk to the human girl. "I really wish that all these people would stop hitting on him. He's mine..." He whispered, speaking his natural tongue.

"I didn't even know thomething like thith exithted. But thank you. I'll let KK know." he smiled and returned, hearing the clicking under Karkat's breath. "We jutht go get it if we're hungry." he frowned. "You okay?"

"Just thinking about how hot you are and how everyone is jealous because you're all mine." Karkat smiled. "Now what do we do about food?"

"We jutht go get it." he said, blinking. "That'th really it."

"Really? Wow..." Karkat said as he got up. "That's so simple..."

"Yeah." Sollux laughed a little bit. He walked over with him, grabbing a plate and a burger, a bun and hesitated, looking at the ketchup and mustard. "Uh..."

"Why are you hesitating?" Karkat asked softly. "Just get both."

"I... Don't think I want to..." he looked at them, feeling a little nauseated. "Thath uh... Not appetithing. Ith the thame color ath me."

"So? The other is my color." Karkat said.

"No ith not." he cocked a wry smile. "Indigo blood." He smirked.

"That doesn't even sound right... I'm not sure I like the fact it changed..." Karkat said softly. "I still hate the color red but it just feels funny to know it's indigo now..."

Sollux smiled. "I know." he said, turning a little yellow. He decided on neither and went to go sit back under the tree.

Karkat got a steak and some steak sauce before joining Sollux by the tree. "This smells so good." He smiled before he started to eat.

Sollux smiled. "Mmm..." he started eating, being mindful of his fangs and his fingers. Sometimes he got a little ahead of himself and bit his fingers while eating. He smiled, leaning back against the tree.

Karkat was glad that they had actual silverware out instead of that cheap plastic crap that he broke with his fangs so easily. "Is your burger good?" He asked softly.

"Yeah." he replied, smiling sweetly. "It ith."

"That's good." Karkat smiled. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

Sollux smiled. "I am. Tho far that ith." He smiled and watched people. There were people playing this game where they threw the ball back and forth across the net. Sollux decided it would be best to stay away from that as much as possible.

"That's good." Karkat smiled at him. "I wonder what that game is about. It looks kinda stupid..."

"I'm thtaying ath far away from that game ath pothible." he said, frowning slightly.

"Your horns would pop the ball." Karkat laughed, smiling at him. "How about we stay for like another hour or so and then go home and cuddle."

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he said, grinning a little. "I like that idea."

"Good." He smiled. "I love you." Karkat said softly, returning to speaking in Alternian.

"I love you too." he replied, smiling.

A small child of about 5 or 6 walked over to the pair. "Are you trolls?" She asked softly.

Karkat nodded. "My name is Karkat and this is Sollux. What's your name?" He smiled softly at the child.

"Mina." She smiled. "Would you play with me?"

Sollux looked at him. "Go on." he smiled, giving Karkat a nudge.

Karkat smiled as he got up, the child gingerly holding his hand.

"Can we play tag?" The child asked.

"Go make sure it's okay with your mommy first, okay?" He smiled, watching her as she ran over to a round brunette woman.

"Mommy, mommy! Can I play tag with my new friend Karkat?" She asked excitedly.

Sollux burst out laughing. "Hahahaha..." he leaned back against the tree and watched him get up and chase this girl around.

"Sure. Go have fun with your troll friend." The woman smiled. Mina ran over to Karkat.

"Mommy said we could play!" She smiled at him.

"Okay. Well, let's start. I'll give you a head start." He smiled down at her as she took off running, he jogged after her, being sure not to run too fast.

Sollux watched and sighed. Karkat would be good with kids, he thought, running a hand through his hair.

Karkat caught up after a few minutes of chasing her, picking her up while avoiding his nails. "I caught you." He smiled as she giggled, wrapping her small arms around his neck.

"I believe that now, you have to chase me." He laughed setting her on the ground before jogging away as she chased him.

Sollux smiled. He watched the sun begin to set and the tiki torches come on, lighting the party. Sollux leaned back against the tree, blinking his now luminescent eyes. He could see them glowing against his hand when he held his hand in front of his face.

Karkat smiled as Mina jumped on him. "Ah! I've been caught!" He laughed, bouncing a little with her on his back.

"Hey Sollux." Katie smiled sitting down beside him. "Having a good time?"

"Oh!" He looked over, blinking. "Y-Yeah tho far tho good." He smiled weakly. "Yeah… I'm jutht watching KK be thilly." He frowned and looked at her before lowering his hand from his face.

"I never realithed that my eyeth glow in the dark." He laughed a little. "I gueth thath kinda a bad thing huh."

"I think they look awesome." She smiled at him. "So how long have you and Karkat been together? You two seem really close. I mean, I know you're lovers and everything but… It's like you two are so in tune with each other."

"Uhhh… Yearth…." He thought about it. "6 yearth?" he blinked. "Ath matethprith. We've known each other our whole life." He smiled, wiggling around a little. "Tho… A really, really long time." He grinned.

"That must be nice… Knowing that there is someone who loves you so… Wholeheartedly." She smiled. "You must really love him." She laughed as she watched Karkat get tackled by a group of small children. "He seems really sweet."

"Hahaha, he can be." He replied, smiling as he rubbed his eyes a little. "He can be really nithe but really rude too." He laughed.

"Sollux!" Karkat laughed as he walked over, a child hanging from each arm and one hanging onto his shoulders. "I think they like me…" He laughed. "You look sleepy. Do you want to go home?" Karkat asked, putting the kids on the ground.

Sollux shook his head. "You can keep playing. I'll be okay." he said, smiling lightly, shifting beneath the tree.

"Are you sure?" Karkat asked softly. "It's really not a big deal..."

"No! Stay and play with us Karkat!" One of the children whined.

"Ith fine." he smiled. "Go play." he shifted his legs, stretching them out.

The kids cheered as they pulled Karkat away from the tree.

"Have you ever thought about having a family with him?" Katie asked. "Sorry if it too personal but you seem to like watching him play with the kids."


	42. Chapter 42

Sollux turned yellow. "No..." he said, crossing his arms. "I'm not... Really... Big on familieth." he frowned. "I mean... I think it would be hard for uth."

"Why?" She asked. "I mean it's not like you two wouldn't be good parents. At least, I think you would be good parents."

"I uh..." he frowned. "Grubth don't like me." he frowned.

"My brother likes you..." Katie smiled. "He thinks you're cool."

"Eh?" he tilted his head. "Your brother ithn't a grub though." he frowned. "He'th a wriggler."

"Difference?" Katie asked. "I'm sure that if you had a baby, it would love you a lot. I think you would make an awesome dad!" She smiled.

'I do too!' Karkat yelled mentally as he continued to play with the kids.

"I uhhh... Will thee how good of a baby thitter I am firtht." he frowned. "My friend Fef ith letting me watch her grub tomorrow becauthe the hath to work." he frowned. "I have a feeling that grub ith going to hate me."

"I bet you'll do fine." Katie smiled.

"I'm sorry you guys but my friend is really sleepy and he can only go to sleep if I tuck him in." Karkat smiled, hugging each of the kids before walking back over to the tree. "Let's go home. I want to cuddle." He smiled, returning to Alternian.

"Nnn." Sollux nodded. "Maybe you can come thee the grub tomorrow or thomething. It would be a good thing to thee if you're really interethted in our race."

"That would be awesome!" Katie smiled.

"Thanks for having us over. I had a blast!" Karkat smiled at Katie.

"Not a problem. It was nice having you two here."

Sollux stood, brushing dirt off his pants as he moved towards Karkat. "Come by tomorrow afternoon thomethime. I thould have the grub."

"Will do!" Katie waved.

"I'm glad you had a good time." Karkat smiled.

Sollux shuffled along, his face going from a smile to a frown once they were out of sight. "I couldn't handle the thmell anymore." he said, rubbing his nose.

"Smell of what?" Karkat asked.

"All the humanth." he frowned. "The thmell of body odor. I feel groth." he wrapped his arm around Karkat gently.

"Do you want to shower and then cuddle?" He asked, slipping his arms around Sollux.

Sollux nodded. "Yeah, leth..." he placed a kiss on Karkat's cheek, pulling him towards the house.

Karkat was glad the next morning. He didn't have to go to school and so he would get to meet Eridan and Feferi's grub while helping Sollux take care of it for the day. He stood at the stove, making breakfast for when Sollux decided to wake up. "I wonder what time his lazy ass will be up..."

Sollux stirred, "KK..." he grumbled, rolling out of bed, pulling on a pair of PJ bottoms. He shuffled downstairs.

"You're awake before noon! Gasp!" Karkat laughed. "Good morning Love."

"Mnnh..." he mumbled, plopping down in the chair.

"It's really not surprising that you woke up right when I was about to call you for breakfast." He smiled, putting the food on a plate and setting it in front of Sollux.

Sollux grabbed the fork and started eating quietly before a knock was heard at the door. "Nnngh..." he put the fork down before walking to the door. He didn't care. He had left his glasses upstairs. He walked nearly blind into the other room where the door was.

"Good morning!" Katie smiled as Sollux opened the door. Her face turned a bright red as she realized that he didn't have a shirt on.

Sollux blinked, his hand immediately moving to his stomach, covering the still healing scar on his stomach. He blinked his eyes at her. He could see most of her, but it was fuzzy.

"Is the grub here yet?" She asked.

Karkat appeared from behind Sollux. "Good morning Katie and no, Addison isn't here yet. But if you want to come inside, I'm making pancakes for breakfast." He smiled. "Go get some clothes on." He said, looking at the still half asleep Sollux.

Sollux muttered something and turned, walking towards the stairs, his feet shuffling on the floor. On his back, light gray scars etched their way across his spine. They moved when he moved. "Nnn..." he clambered up the stairs returning a few minutes later with a tank top on.

Karkat made a plate for Katie, deciding on toast for his own breakfast. "Are you excited to meet Addison, Sollux?"

"Nnn..." he made a grabbing motion. "Coffee." He rubbed his eyes, his glasses up on top of his head. "Nnn... I gueth... He will probably hithh at me."

Karkat smiled, getting up to get Sollux a cup of coffee.

"You two really take care of each other don't you?' Katie smiled.

"Well, it's more like I take care of this lazy ass and he gets taken care of." Karkat smirked, handing him the cup. "Isn't that right, Sollux?"

"Nnnnhhnn..." he mumbled, grabbing the honey from the middle of the table, dousing the coffee in honey.

Katie looked at Sollux with a mix of wonder and disgust. "Why are you putting honey in coffee?" She asked.

"He puts honey in almost everything..." Karkat sighed.

"I fucking love honey." he mumbled, setting the container down, getting up and getting the milk before putting a splash of milk in his coffee. He took a big drink after stirring it. "Nnnn.."

"He's a Honey Bee." Karkat smiled. "His life practically revolves around the shit." He sighed. "I've come to terms with being second to a bottle of sticky substance."

Katie laughed at Karkat's dramatic movements and sighs.

"Pthhhbtttghhh." he didn't even bother trying to steady the lisp. He grumbled and drank his cup of coffee, his eyes remaining narrowed and tired. "I'm tho fucking tired..." he mumbled.

"You poor thing. Having to be up at 11:30 in the morning to help take care of a friend's grub. How will you ever survive?" Karkat sighed dramatically. "It's not like it wasn't obvious that I was kidding."

"Nnn." he grumbled. "I feel like I didn't thleep. I mith thopor."

"Maybe we should invest in a recuperacoon?" Karkat said softly.

"That's the pool of green stuff isn't it?" Katie asked.

"Nnnh." Sollux replied, feeling a little more alive.

The doorbell rang. "That must be Feferi and Addison. I'll go get the door." Karkat said before heading in that direction.

Feferi was excited to see how Addison handled being around other trolls. "Good morning Karkat! I have my little Addy!"

"Can I hold him?" Karkat asked, holding his arms out.

Sollux let out a big yawn and got up, walking into the other room. "He'th really pink!" He laughed a little.

Eridan peered in the door, having come with them.

"He's so cute." Karkat smiled as Feferi handed Addison to him, holding one of his fingers over the legs of the grub.

Katie came into the foyer. "Is that a grub? It's so cute!" She smiled, getting closer to Karkat.

Sollux peered over Karkat's shoulder, looking down at the gray face and gray eyes.

"Addison Ampora." Eridan said, smiling with pride. "I think wwe did good namin him, Fef." he smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"That's such a cute name! Oh... I'm Katie by the way. I live across the street." Katie smiled at the pair.

"It's nice to meet you Katie." Feferi smiled at her. "Now... You take good care of my grub." She looked at Karkat and Sollux.

Karkat nodded. "He's s adorable."

Sollux smiled, reaching around Karkat, gently trying to let Addison grab a hold of his finger with his claw.

Addison made a growling noise, biting down hard on Sollux's finger.

"F-FUCK!"

Karkat laughed. "I don't think he likes you very much..." He giggled, playing with the grub a little more.

Sollux pulled back his finger. He stuck it in his mouth, trying to hide his horrible yellow blood. Eridan frowned. "Did he draww blood? I'm so sorry Sol..."

"Addison! That was not nice! You better not do that again!" Feferi scolded the grub, not knowing if it could understand but by the look on its face, it did.

"I think you kinda scared him Sollux. Why not try while I've got him occupied?" Karkat suggested.

Sollux nodded walking around him, taking his finger out of his mouth. There were a few little bite marks that were still slightly yellow. He used his other hand gently nudging its leg. Addison looked at Sollux and let out a loud skree. Sollux winced and pulled his hand back. "FUCK make it thtop!"

Eridan walked over, gently taking Addison into his arms, quieting him down before handing him back to Karkat. "I just think he doesn't like you vvery much, Sol..."

"I'm sorry love..." Karkat said softly, petting Addison's hair.

"I think he will get to like you. He acts a lot like Eri." Feferi giggled. "Just give him some time."

"If you thay though..." he sighed. He opened up his arms to try and get Karkat to hand him to him.

Eridan smiled and put an arm around Feferi's hip.

Karkat stepped into Sollux's arms before handing Addison over. "Be careful." He said softly.

Sollux nodded. "When am I not?" he grumbled, gently taking the grub in his arms. The grub hissed loudly at him, snarling almost, clicking its claws open and closed.

Feferi watched nervously as Addison started to try to crawl up Sollux's arm. "Addy. Be nice."

Sollux cringed slightly feeling the grub crawl against his skin. He then felt the grub bite down on his bicep. "OWW!" He cringed and reached for the grub carefully. "G-Get it off!"

Feferi immediately took Addison. "You, young man, are in trouble. Uncle Sollux is nice!" She looked down at the grub. "I promise Addy."

Karkat stepped closer to Sollux, using the towel that he kept with him, a useful skill he had picked up from school. "I don't understand why he wouldn't like you..."

Sollux sighed. "I don't know..." he said, wincing a little bit as he leaned into the towel. "Nnn..."

Eridan frowned and looked down at Addison. The grub had an innocent face on.

"I'm sorry love." Karkat said softly, cleaning the bites on his arm.

"Eri... Why doesn't he like Sollux?" Feferi asked her matesprit.

"I don't knoww." he said. "It might just be that he doesn't like him." he frowned. "I think he wwill learn."

Addison made a cute squeaking noise, gently reaching out for Eridan, a grin on his little innocent face.

Sollux scowled.

"He'll have to since he'll be with Uncle Sollux a lot." Feferi smiled.

"I'm sorry Sollux. I don't know why he's acting like this..." Karkat hugged Sollux gently. "I love you." He smiled up at his matesprit.

Sollux frowned and leaned against him. "Love you too... We'll get through thith." he said, frowning.

Eridan gently looked at his grub with a scowl. "Noww listen to your lusus." he began, speaking in a stern voice. "You be nice to uncle Kar and Uncle Sol." The grub made a soft skree and looked apologetic. Eridan handed him back to Sollux, who was finally able to hold the grub without him biting Sollux.

Addison made a soft hiss, but settled down.

Karkat wrapped one of his arms around Sollux's waist as he rubbed Addison's belly with his finger. "Who's the cute little grub?" He cooed, smiling at the Alternian child.

Addison looked up at Karkat and let out a happy skree before hissing at Sollux.

Eridan smiled. "Honey if you don't leavve noww, you'll be late for wwork." he kissed the side of Feferi's head. "It wwill be alright. Kar can call Kan if he needs to."

"He's nice Addison. See." Karkat leaned up kissing Sollux gently. "He's nice!"

"I know!" Feferi said softly before going over and kissing Addison on the forehead. "I love you Addy. I will see you later Eri. Have a good time at your meeting." She kissed him softly. "Bye guys! Be good Addison!"

Eridan smiled and left with Feferi.

Sollux let out a sigh. Addison heard the door click shut before sniffling lightly. It looked on the verge of tears.

"I have an idea... If you want to try..." Karkat said softly, taking Addison from him.

Sollux looked over at him. "Okay...?" he asked, giving Katie a glance.

"Use your psionics to pick us up. I think he'll like it." Karkat smiled at him.

"What's psionics?" Katie asked.

"Thith." he said, feeling the familiar push behind his eyes, feeling the sparks fly out from them as he gently, with ease, lifted Karkat from the ground.

Addison let out a skree of confusion.

"It's okay little one. Sollux won't let us fall. We're flying." He smiled softly at the grub.

Addison calmed down.

"That's so cool..." Katie stood watching as Karkat and the small pink grub in his arms started to float.

Sollux grinned, holding out a hand to control Karkat's movements, before using his other hand to allow Katie to float a few inches above the floor.

"Ah!" Katie gasped as she was lifted off the ground. "This is so cool!" She smiled.

Karkat smiled. "Worry about Addison's movements not mine." He slowly started to loosen his grip on Addison. Addison started to float by himself. "You should probably actually control his. I know what I'm doing!" Karkat laughed, wrapping his arms around Sollux's shoulders but keeping Addison close to him.

Addison let out a skree feeling Karkat let go of him. He floundered around. Sollux contained his position, making it so he floated by himself. Sollux smiled, looking back at Karkat. "Are you thcared Katie?" he asked, levitating her higher.

"No. This is amazing! I had no idea that this was even possible!" Katie smiled. "How do I move on my own? Like Karkat is." She asked.

"I don't really know how I do it. I just do." Karkat answered. "Make him come to me." He looked at Sollux.

"Oh." Sollux let part of his powers go, the bits that were holding her in place. He used his hand to gently move Addison towards Karkat.

Katie started to experiment with moving around. Karkat smiled as Addison was moved into his arms. "Are you having fun little one?" He brought Addison into his arms again.

The little grub screed before Sollux let out a sigh. "Nn..." He felt his powers weaken a little, almost dropping Karkat. "Thit." He cursed, wincing. "I can't hold you guyth anymore... I'm out of practithe."

"Okay..." Katie sighed. "That was fun though!" She laughed a little as she was set back on the ground. Karkat walked over.

"Now you know how you can make Addison happy." He smiled, kissing Sollux's cheek gently. "You know that you can practice with lifting me."

"Yeah." he said, rubbing his temples a little bit. "I'm out of practithe... I uthed to be tho good." he frowned, going back into the kitchen, sipping his now cold coffee.

"You're still good, Sollux." Karkat said, following him with the grub in his arms.

"I'm going to lay down with Addison for a little bit. He looks like he needs a nap."

"I'm going to go home, I have lots of homework to work on. See ya later and thanks for that earlier! It was amazing!" Katie smiled.

Sollux nodded. "You're welcome." he said, rubbing his eyes a little, setting his glasses on the table. "Nnn..." he sighed softly,

Karkat walked Katie to the door before going into the living room and laying on the couch, Addison on his lap. "Make sure I'm up by 3!" Karkat shouted from the living room before falling asleep.

Sollux nodded. The house was quiet. His mind raged. He walked upstairs, sitting down on his computer for a little bit, working on some coding for a small time being before he got bored with it. 3 hours was sure a long time to do nothing. He had to stay awake. He looked around. There was nothing to do.

There was a knock on the door. "I can't believe that I left my backpack here..." Katie sighed. "I'm such an idiot..."

Sollux heard it and came downstairs. He opened the door. "Hm? Oh hi."

"Sorry... I left my backpack in your kitchen..." Katie smiled softly. "Where's Karkat? I thought he was putting the grub down for a nap..."

"He'th athleep on the couch." he said, shutting the door once she was inside. "I'm thuppothed to wake him up at three."

"Oh... You must be really bored... So, how good are you at computer programming?" She asked. "I'm supposed to do a program that is helpful in some way but I can't figure out how to create a code..."

"Which code are you thuppothed to uthe? HTML, THEE ETH ETH (CSS), ath?" he rattled off a couple more, realizing he had probably lost her at HTML.

"I have no idea what you just said..." Katie admitted. "I'm failing this class because I don't understand it and I have to have it to graduate..." She sighed. "Can you help?"

"Yeah." he said, "Do you have a tektht book?" he blinked at her. "Tell me what you have to do

and I'll tell you if I can help you. I probably will."

"Everything is in my backpack..." She said softly.

Sollux nodded. "Thow me what you have to do." he said, sitting down at the table.

Katie pulled out the book and started to explain the assignment. "She never told us what to do besides create a program that would help you in daily life."

"Huh..." he thought about it for a moment. "Well... What kind of program do you want to make?" he asked. "What would help you in daily life?"

"I don't know. I mean... There would be a lot of things that could help me in daily life but I don't

think that it would possible to make a program for them..." She sighed. "What would you want a program for?"

"Hmm... Probably thomething to wake me up. An alarm would be good. Thomething to have it come on when you thet a thpecific time. Thomething thimple like that." he smiled a little.

"There's a magical thing called an alarm clock for that Sollux." Katie said sarcastically. "What about a program to translate spoken Alternian?"

"That'd be hard." he said, frowning. "I can't even fully tranthlate Alternian..." He gave her a sharp look. "I know what an alarm clock ith... KK hath that horrible thing."

"I hate them too..." Katie sighed. "What about written Alternian? I've noticed that the spoken

language and the spoken language don't really... Mush well... Then again, I haven't seen you speak anything you have read..."

Sollux clicked his tongue. "Well... Ith about the thame." he said. "It would thound the

thame if I were to read it... Kind of." he frowned. "Ith really hard to ekthplain."

"Then, write something down and read it aloud." Katie said, looking at him with a look of expectation.

Sollux got up, getting some paper from out of the drawer, and a pen. "My handwriting thuckth..."

he said, scribbling down something in Alternian. "Thith ith my name." He read it in Alternian which sounded similar to how it did in English, but with a click at the end of his first name. "You write it backwardth." he said, writing it out again, slower.

"What about Karkat's name?" Katie asked.

Sollux wrote out Karkat Vantas, having a considerable amount of problem with the last syllable.

He fumbled it in his mouth, finally spitting it out with an extra click he hadn't meant to put in there.

"I can't thay that thyllable..." he said, frowning.

"Because of your lisp?" Katie asked. "I just wanted to hear you say his name. You always call him KK even when you speak in Alternian.."

"Ith eathier for me." he said. He flashed his fangs. "Ith hard to talk with thethe." he frowned

before sticking out his tongue. "Thith too."

"I'm sorry but that's hot..." She laughed a little. "Does Karkat tell you that you are attractive?

Like really attractive?"

Sollux turned yellow. "Y-Yeah he doeth." he said, shifting in his seat a little.

"I'm sorry... I can't help flirting with you..." She laughed. "Karkat seems very possessive.."

"Thath hith nature." He said, frowning. "I'm... Known to do thingth in two." he said, shifting.

"KK geth mad thometimeth... I need to thtop thinking in quadrantth."

"That's the red and black thing right?" Katie asked. "Why do you need to stop thinking like

that? It's part of your culture."

"Becauthe KK wanth me to be hith and hith alone. No kithmethith." he said. He looked at the

table, not wanting to make a lot of eye contact.

"Oh... Well... That seems fair... At least from a human stand point. We kinda expect

Monogamy in relationships." She stated. "But that's not how things work in Troll Culture..

Do you want a kismesis?"

"I mean... If thomething were to happen to KK, I don't know what I'd do. I don't have a real moirail, tho if can't go to them. I don't have a kithmethith right now... Eridan wath mine for a day..." he frowned. "And then Jameth..." he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Kithmethith ith a really touchy thing."

"What's a moirail again?" Katie asked. "Besides... That doesn't really answer my question."

"A moirail ith like a really, really good betht friend who ith there for you no matter what." He sighed. "I don't know what I want."

"I could be your moirail!" She smiled at him. "If you want that is. I don't know how you feel about having a 17 year old human girl for a friend... But I take care of my friends!"

Sollux frowned. He didn't know if that would be such a good idea, but at least it was something

for now. "You have to promithe me that you'll be a true friend no matter what. Painfully honetht at timeth, but able to calm my thorry thionic ath." he laughed a little bit.

"Can do." She smiled at him. "And between us. I think you are scared that if you had a grub

with Karkat that it would hate you like Addison did."

"Addithon probably hateth me becauthe I'm a lowblood. Thomehow grubth can jutht tell... I mean

I'm a fucking pithh blood." he grumbled. He hated using that word. He didn't know why he used it anymore. Eridan had used it so many times before. He let out a shaky sigh.

"You're being stupid." Katie said. "Feferi mentioned that Eridan had at one point hated you. Right? Well, I can tell that you let this whole lowblood-highblood thing control your relationships. He obviously liked floating and that is something that only you can do. So grow a pair of balls and talk to Karkat about having a family. I know you keep thinking about it since you keep watching him with a look of happiness and content when you see him with kids."

Sollux felt a small growl escape his throat. Why did he agree to this again? And what the hell were balls? "Alright alright." he rolled his eyes, leaning back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. His tank top rode up on his stomach a little.

Katie smiled, feeling proud of herself for being, what she thought, a good moirail. "Good."

"Leth do thith program thing. What do you want to do."

"I don't know..." Katie said. "The translating Alternian was the only thing I could think of..."

Sollux nodded. "I'll help ath much ath I can." he said, smiling a little. "My computer ith upthtairth." he said.

"I have my laptop..." Katie said, pulling it out of her bag. "We could use that. Plus, I think you should stay close incase Addison wakes up before Karkat."


	43. Chapter 43

In this timeline, the world was doomed and everyone knew that they would die. Karkat and Sollux went to their friend and the Knight of Time, Dave Strider. Karkat looked up at Sollux as they made their way to the meeting spot. In his arms, a tomato soup colored grub, the perfect mix of his mutant red blood and Sollux's yellow. "I hope this works..." Karkat whispered as they walked. "I want her to be safe."

Sollux, who looked worn from the stress of failure and sheer exhaustion nodded back. "I want her to be thafe..." he whispered, gripping Karkat's hand. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. Their grub, almost a wriggler... The last thing they held dear besides each other. The last thing of their race. He didn't want to give her up. He wanted to keep her safe with them... But he knew that somehow things would turn out okay... Even if they wouldn't make it.

"There's Dave..." Karkat said softly. Carmine, the grub, started to shift and make noises. Softly, Karkat started to hum the lullaby that Sollux had taught him. The one that the Signless had taught the Psiioniic.

"Dave, thank you for meeting with us."

"No problem. I wish there was more I could do to help..." The blonde said. "Do you have everything I asked you to bring?"

Sollux nodded. It had a blanket that he had made with crude markings of the baby's sign. It was the last he could do for her. He had laid the blanket out in the basket. Carmine was asleep, which was wonderful.

He had the note with him, having folded it nicely. It was solely written in Alternian. "Will thee make it alright?"

"Of course. You have Dave Strider taking care of her." He smiled.

"You don't understand Dave. She is everything to us." Karkat said, petting Carmine's hair. "Please, take care of her."

"I will, I promise." He said softly. "She'll be delivered to the other you, the one you have been talking to Karkat."

Karkat nodded, leaning against Sollux. "We love you Carmine." He said softly, kissing her nose.

Sollux smiled a weak smile. He felt tears dripping down his cheeks. He wiped them away before any of them would drip on her pleasant dreaming face. He sniffed and looked up at Dave. "Thank you."

Karkat held the grub up to Sollux. "Hold her for a minute while I put her bee and her crab in the basket."

Sollux nodded. He gently took her, holding her close to his body. He knew she would be loved in the other timeline.

Karkat sat the two plushies down inside the basket, mimicking how Carmine was used to sleeping with them.

Sollux frowned, watching him. "Karkat." he whispered. "Ith... Ith the other timeline... A thafe one?" he asked, just wanting to be reassured.

"They defeated the Condesce and Gamzee is the king of the Subjugglators... Plus you're there and with me." He smiled softly, wrapping his arms around his love. "I would say it's safe."

Sollux smiled a little bit. "Alright." he said, sniffing as he kissed Carmine's face.

"I'm sorry guys but we don't have a lot of time. I can't be noticed when I leave with her." Dave said softly.

Karkat nodded, kissing Carmine's nose again before Sollux placed her in the basket. "I love you my little bee." He said as he pulled the blanket around her.

Sollux felt a pain in his chest. "I love you Carmine." he said quietly, touching her face with his hand gently, using his powers to give the basket to Dave. He didn't trust his hands.

Karkat hugged Sollux tightly, his face in Sollux's chest as he cried.

"I'll take good care of her." Dave said. "She will be safe." Was the final thing that he said before he and the basket with little Carmine Captor disappeared.

"I hope she'll be okay..." Karkat whispered into Sollux's shirt.

Sollux leaned against Karkat, sobbing. "Y-yeah..." he whispered, his hands shaking as they wrapped themselves around Karkat tightly.

Dave appeared in the other timeline. He looked around, seeing Sollux outside the door. Gently he set the basket in front of the door. "Take care little Captor." He smiled before disappearing again.

Karkat was inside at the stove, working on breakfast. It was one of his rare days off from both school and the restaurant that he was working part time at.

Sollux heard a noise as he shuffled out to the mailbox to get the paper. He turned around, seeing a basket on the porch. It was covered in a blanket. He inched towards it, seeing a note pinned on the outside. It was addressed to Sollux and Karkat Captor. Captor? He questioned Karkat's last name... It was his! Something wasn't right. He pulled back the blanket, finding a grub asleep, curled up under part of the blanket. Sollux went pale. His eyes went wide as he grabbed the note reading it.

_Dear Sollux and Karkat, _

_I know this will sound strange but this is your grub. Well, she's actually mine and my Sollux's grub but since we are the same... I think you understand. Her name is Carmine. Our timeline is doomed and I have been talking with me from your timeline. Please take care of her. She means everything to us and we only want to give her the best. _

_Thank you. _

_Sollux and Karkat Captor_

Sollux shoved the note in his pocket and picked up the basket, carrying it inside, setting it down on the floor at his feet as the door shut behind him. "Karkat. Vantath." he said, his voice quavering. "Get in here now."

"Wow... Full name. This must be serious. What's up?" Karkat asked, walking into the living room, drying his hands on a towel.

Sollux looked at him with wide eyes. He motioned the basket at his feet. "What..." he heard the clicking noise. He had woken the grub up.

Karkat looked down at the basket, hearing the noises. He quickly got down on his knees, moving the blanket. "She's so cute!" He smiled, picking the grub up. "Oh! You are so adorable!" He stood, grinning widely as he sat on the couch, cooing and playing with her hair.

Sollux watched him in disbelief. "KK? Did you know about thith?"

"Know about what? Did you realize that she is a mix of our colors?" Karkat giggled, setting her on his lap. She crawled around on his legs. "She even has your horns! How cute is that!"

"About thith... Grub." he said, his voice quiet. "Karkat... We... I..." he fought to find the right words. "Oh my Gog... I ... I… Karkat..." he quivered. "We can't raithe a grub..."

"Why not?" Karkat asked looking at him. "Where do you expect her to go? Plus, it's not like we don't make enough money to raise her!" He felt protective of the little grub on his shoulder. "She's staying. And I don't know what you are talking about. This is the first time I've seen this grub."

Sollux cringed. "B-but... We... We don't know how to raithe her..." he whimpered and dug around for the note.

Little Carmine made clicking noises, reaching out her claws for Sollux.

"Well, we can ask Feferi and Eridan for help and Kanaya too!" Karkat said. "I think she wants her Daddy..." He smiled at Sollux. "Once you pick her up, you won't be able to say no. Let me see that note."

Sollux sighed and handed him the note, gently taking the grub off his shoulder. She was so light. She looked up at him with big... Wait a tick. "Karkat theth a thionic..." he felt a twinge in his chest. Another psionic in the house?

"I noticed." He smiled. "Isn't she adorable? She looks a lot like you. Poor thing has my stubby little horns though." He sighed before turning his attention to the note. After a moment he looked up at Sollux, a sheepish grin on his face. "I swear that I didn't realize that the dreams were actually another timeline." Karkat said softly, wrapping his arms around Sollux. "You have to admit though... She is most definitely ours..."

Sollux watched her curl up against his chest. She loved him. She wasn't hissing, squeaking, skreeing... Nothing. It was quiet except for a few clicks and a gentle sounding purr. "KK..." he whispered, leaning against him. "W-What doeth thith mean?" he asked. "I... I..." he frowned. "I mean..." He couldn't find words.

"Daddy." She chirped, a line of happy squeaks coming from her as she smiled at him. "Mommy?" Carmine looked at Sollux with confusion, asking with her eyes where Karkat was. Karkat went back downstairs, dialing Feferi and Eridan as he walked back into the living room.

"A-..." Sollux felt his breath hitch in his throat. He felt tears well up in his eyes. "T-Thee called me Daddy..." He blinked and felt the tears drip down his face.

"Oh Gog..." Eridan rolled over, grabbing at the phone. "Hello?" he asked, his voice hushed.

"Did she? That's so cute." Karkat smiled, walking over and sitting down beside them. "Hey Eridan... You'll never believe what just showed up at our door. Feferi will want to hear this too."

Carmine smiled at Karkat. "Mommy!" She squeaked, crawling over to Karkat's lap.

"Did she just..." Karkat asked softly as he grabbed Sollux's hand.

"Wwhat wwas that?" he asked, sitting up. He gently nudged Feferi. "Fef... Hey Fef wwake up."

"Sollux found a grub in a basket on our front step... She is a mix of his yellow blood and my red." Karkat smiled. "And she called Sollux Daddy. He's happy." He giggled.

"What?" Feferi asked quietly, shifting a little with her arms around Eridan. "Who's on the phone?"

"O-Oh my cod!" He exclaimed, leaning against Feferi. "That's awwesome!" He smiled. "Kar is on the phone. Sol found a grub on the porch." Sollux held her close, wiping at his eyes.

"Gog you are tho cute." he sniffled, smiling as he gripped Karkat's hand.

"Really? Tell him that I want details!" Feferi exclaimed.

"Thanks. I'm excited! About the details. Her name is Carmine. She has the two sets of horns like Sollux but they look like mine. She's also a psionic!" Karkat smiled, curling up against Sollux. "And Sollux seems to be a very happy Daddy."

Eridan smiled. "I'm so happy for you guys! Wwe wwill havve to come ovver sometime and meet her!" he smiled and kissed Feferi gently.

Sollux sniffled and leaned against Karkat, letting his eyes close. He was exhausted. He held the grub close, letting her lay on his chest.

"We will come over tomorrow and we'll bring Addison and they can be friends!" Feferi smiled.

"I'm so excited!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Karkat smiled. "Well, I'm going to get off here. Bye guys!" He hung up the phone, laying it on the couch before snuggling up with his love and his grub. "I love you two." He kissed both of their cheeks gently.

Eridan smiled and curled up with Feferi having hung up the phone. "This is wwonderful." he said, kissing her cheek.

Sollux rested his eyes. "I love you too." he said, his voice quiet and calm. "I'm tho happy right now."

"This is going to be really good for them." Feferi said softly. "Don't you think?" "I'm glad." Karkat smiled. "She looks like she's almost a wriggler..."

"Meanth the will be talking more thoon." he said.

"It is. I'm so happy for both of them." Eridan replied, relaxing back against the pillow.

"I wonder if she... Carmine, how does honey taste?" Karkat asked.

"Thweet." She said happily.

"She has your lisp!" Karkat smiled. "That's so cute!"

Sollux blushed dark yellow. "Thath embarathing..." he frowned and looked up at Karkat. He smiled weakly.

"No. It's adorable!" Karkat said. "Don't you make her think otherwise!"

"Mommy funny." Carmine squeaked.

"Mommy ith mean." he laughed a little, looking up at her. "What do you think of Daddy?"

"Daddy fun! Fly with Theethee (CC)." Carmine giggled.

"That's right... She's from a timeline where we all have the same last name..." Karkat said softly, running his fingers through Sollux's hair.

Sollux smiled a little. "Thath tho cute." he smiled and felt himself finally able to relax. He didn't know it, but he soon fell asleep, breathing quietly against Karkat's thigh.

Karkat started to hum the lullaby as they both fell asleep on him. 'Best day ever.' He smiled as he watched his pair of psionics nap.

Sollux woke a little bit later, feeling horrible. He didn't feel rested at all. He rubbed his eyes, grumbling quietly.

"Morning love." Karkat smiled down at him. "Don't move too much. Carmine is still on your chest."

Sollux nodded. "I feel horrible." he muttered, hearing the doorbell ring. "Nnnn... Ith probably Katie. I told her I would help her with her homework." he rubbed his eyes, shifting only slightly.

Sollux had shifted enough so Karkat could get up. "You rest. I'll get the door." He said, walking into the foyer. He opened the door, seeing Eridan. "What are you doing here? I thought you guys were coming tomorrow..."

"Feferi told me to bring you guys this." he held out a bag filled with clothing for the grub. Little things here and there for her. "Wwhen Fef wwas pregnant, a lot of people gavve us stuff for a girl, and wwe obvviously had a boy." he smiled. "I figured these wwould come in handy."

"Thanks. That's really sweet." Karkat smiled taking the bag. "Do you want to come in and meet her real quick?" He asked, opening the door a little more.

Eridan smiled. "I wwould lovve to!" he stepped inside.

"They are in the living room." Karkat smiled, leading him inside. "Sollux, Eridan's here with clothes for Carmine." He smiled as he walked into the living room. "This is Carmine Captor." Karkat said as he went over and picked the grub up off of Sollux's chest. Carmine shifted a little at being picked up but didn't wake.

"Oh my cod she's adorable!" he tried hard to contain his excitement quietly, grinning. "You'll havve to explain to me tomorroww howw she got here." he smiled, setting the bag down by the couch. Sollux sat up.

"Want to hold her?" Karkat asked, sitting down by Sollux. "She seems to like people, granted she only knows me and Sollux for right now..."

Eridan nodded. "Is she asleep?" he asked.

Karkat nodded handing her to Eridan. "Sollux was about to cry when she called him Daddy. It was cute!" He giggled, scooting closer to Sollux.

"I did cry." Sollux mumbled, sighing softly.

Eridan smiled. "That's swweet." He gently held the grub in his arms. "She's so adorable..." he whispered, gently running his finger along the side of her shell. "Her shell is getting soft. She'll probably be pupating soon. Addy is going through that too."

"I thought she was getting close to being a wriggler. I wonder if she can use her powers yet... She's a psionic like Sollux." Karkat said, wrapping his arms around Sollux. "You're going to have fun with that, aren't ya Sollux?" He laughed.

Sollux made a little noise.

"That's amazin' guys." He smiled and rocked her gently back and forth. "I can't wwait until she meets Addy."

"Me too." Karkat smiled. "I hope they'll be friends!"

Later that day, Sollux had set up on the table with his husktop, his insignia on the back, glowing blue and red. He typed away at a code he had been working on. He heard the doorbell ring. Carmine was sitting in his lap. He gently picked her up and carried her to the door, opening it.

Katie stood there, smiling when she saw Sollux. "Wait... What is... Is that a grub?" She asked confused. "But Addison is pink... What did you do?"

"We found thith on our front porch thith morning." he said, smiling a little bit, stepping back for her to come in.

"What's its name?" She asked, walking inside. "It kinda looks like tomato soup..."

"Her name ith Carmine." he shut the door and walked back into the kitchen. Carmine clicked happily, letting out a happy squeak. "Theth very happy." he smiled.

"Who's grub is she?" Katie asked, sitting down at the table.

"Ourth." he said, letting her crawl onto his shoulder. She was getting a little big to do that anymore. "Long thtorry thort, the came from a doomed timeline. Thomeone from that timeline, teleported her to uth."

"That's so sweet! It sounds like something from a movie!" Katie smiled. Karkat came downstairs, a grin on his face. "Oh hey Katie! Did you already get to meet Carmine?" She nodded.

"She's adorable!"

"Isn't she though?" He giggled.

Sollux laughed a little, smiling as he felt her nuzzle his face and squeak right in his ear. "Oww." he frowned a little and went back to typing.

"Are you guys hungry? I can make lunch. By the way, Feferi told me how to make food for the little one." He smiled, petting Carmine softly as he walked over to the stove. "Just tell me if you want something."

Sollux nodded. "I want thomething." he said, hearing Carmine perk up a little bit.

"Yes?" Karkat asked, turning to face him.

"I don't know." he said, smiling. "Thurprithe me." he said, winking at him.

"Really? So you want anything that has honey in. Okay... I'm going to make something special for Carmine since I can see her staring at my strawberries..." Karkat laughed. "Seriously though. What do you want to eat?"

"KK, I don't care, you're an amathing cook. Jutht make me thomething." he laughed a little bit.

"Suck up." He laughed, turning back around to start on fruit and honey salad. As he sliced the strawberries, he set some aside for Carmine to eat. After a moment, it was ready. He scooped some fruit into two bowls and put the strawberries for Carmine in a separate one. Karkat took her bowl to her first. "These are for Carmine." He said before going and drizzling a little bit of honey into his bowl. Karkat then grabbed the two bowls and the bottle of honey and took them to the table. "Here ya go Sollux." He said sitting the bowl in front of him.

"I would eat but I had a huge breakfast. My mom made a feast!" Katie laughed.

Sollux smiled and took a bite of his before grabbing a strawberry slice and letting Carmine eat it.

Carmine squeaked from happiness. She really liked strawberries. "Honey?" She asked, looking at her Daddy. "Pweathe?"

"That is so cute!" Karkat and Katie said at the same time.

Sollux laughed a little and nodded, dipping the strawberry piece into his bowl, getting some honey off of the bottom. "Here you go."

"She's definitely related to you Sollux." Katie laughed.

'I wonder what she got from me...' Karkat thought to himself.

"Your anger." Sollux laughed, not realizing Karkat hadn't said that aloud.

"Wait, what?" Katie asked. "Who's anger?"

"You're a dick." Karkat glared at Sollux,

Sollux smiled. "You love me." he grinned and ate some of his honey covered strawberries.

"And sometimes, I want to rip your head off." Karkat smiled.

"Uh... What's going on?" Katie asked.

"Sollux is being a dick." Karkat said flatly, munching on his fruit. "He's saying that I'm angry all the time and that the only thing Carmine got from me is my anger."

Sollux pouted. "You're being mean KK." he said as he quietly continued eating, giving Carmine another piece of strawberry.

"How am I being mean? You're the one who said it!" Karkat pouted.

Katie sat their watching the two of them bicker back and forth. "You two sound like an old married couple. This is brilliant."

Sollux narrowed his eyes. "You don't have to call me a dick for it though!" he said harshly.

Karkat narrowed his eyes before getting up and going to the sink and filling up a glass of water. He sipped at it for a minute, in an attempt to calm down because he didn't really want to yell in front of Carmine.

"Go hug him. He's trying to calm down for Carmine's sake and you saying shit like that, is just going to piss him off even more." Katie whispered to Sollux. She was enjoying being Sollux's moirail.

Sollux sighed, gently moving Carmine into the chair as he stood up. "KK." he walked around to the other side of the table. "You know I love you..."

"I know." Karkat said softly, taking deep breaths. "I love you too. I just... I try not to be so angry..."

"I know." he said, gently wrapping his arms over Karkat's shoulders, draping himself on him. "I'm thorry..." he whispered in Alternian.

Karkat smiled softly. "I love you." He whispered back. "It just really pisses me off when anyone brings up my anger issues... I'm trying to control it..."

Sollux smiled. "I know." he said, smiling a little brighter. "Your anger maketh you who you are." he pinched his cheek a little. "Crab." he smiled.

"Honey Bee." Karkat smiled. "But I think that nerd fits you better." He laughed.

Katie sat back as the two continued to converse in Alternian as she watched Carmine and fed her strawberries.

Sollux pouted. "Dick." he kissed the side of his head, frowning.

"I'm using nerd as a positive word. I could have called you a fuckass." He smiled, leaning on Sollux. "You're horns have gotten taller..."

"Mmmm." he hummed. "Maybe they'll turn into like what Thionic had." he smiled. He kissed Karkat's cheek again before backing up, smiling sweetly.

Karkat turned back around, setting the cup on the counter. "That would be pretty awesome if they did." Karkat laughed. "I wonder if I actually look anything like the Signless..."

"Are you two going to start speaking English any time soon? If not, I can come back later." Katie said.

"Sorry..." Karkat mumbled in English.

"It's fine. You needed to work that out." Katie smiled. "I'm taking the smiles as all is well."

Karkat nodded, sitting down at the table. "Let me feed Carmine. You'll get to spend more time with her than I will..."

Sollux nodded, sitting down and watching him feed her. He was happy. He was as happy as he could have been in a long time. Despite being tired, he couldn't wipe that grin off his face.

"Well. Sollux looks like he's about to pass out with that stupid grin on his face and Karkat is over there acting like a doting mother so I think I'll leave." Katie said as she gathered her stuff. "I'll come over tomorrow and maybe then we can work on my project. Bye guys."

Sollux frowned. "Thorry..." he mumbled. He sighed quietly and rubbed his eyes.

"It's fine. Get some rest." Katie smiled. "I'll see ya tomorrow!"

"Take care!" Karkat yelled after her. "You, my matesprit, need to nap. I'll stay up with Carmine." He smiled, feeding her another strawberry.

"I don't think I'll be able to thleep." he said, frowning. "I feel like I'm on the verge of who knowth what." he frowned. "I can't get any thleep..."

"Shit... That reminds me... Where is Carmine going to sleep?" Karkat frowned looking over at Sollux. "Should we go get a crib or something?"

"Yeah... I mean the can thleep with uth for now." he nodded. "I mean, we can go and try and get a crib if you want."

"Well... The problem with that is that we were talking about getting a recuperacoon, remember? Are we still going to do that?" Karkat asked softly.

Sollux looked at him with needy eyes. "Yeth." There wasn't any debate in this. Sollux wanted... No... He needed a recuperacoon. "Leth get her a crib and leth get a recuperacoon today."

"Are you sure?" Karkat asked. "She could probably sleep in the recuperacoon with us until she's bigger..."

"Yeah... Leth jutht get a recuperacoon." he sighed. "I need it for thure."

"Okay." Karkat smiled, picking Carmine up. "We're going to go to the store baby girl." He kissed her cheek and she squeaked happily. "I kinda wonder how we acted in the timeline where she's from..."

"Who knowth." Sollux replied. "Let me actually get drethed... And then we'll go. Wrap her up in thomething Eridan brought. I hope thome of it fitth."

"I will but I need to get changed too." He said, carrying her upstairs. "This is going to be awesome!"

Sollux grabbed the bag as he went up, smiling as he walked into the bedroom. "Mmm... And our private life hath hit the fan, huh." he grinned.

"But... Carmine..." Karkat looked at him. "She'll need us... Like all the time... We can still cuddle!"

Sollux laughed. "I gueth when we need a night we can have Fef babythit." he smiled.

"You're such a pervert! There is a grub in the room!" Karkat pouted. "Don't mind Daddy. He's just being a pervy Daddy." He laughed a little, setting her on the bed. "Don't move. I have to change." Karkat grabbed some clothes from the dresser and started to change.

Sollux laughed. "And?" he smirked and went to get some clothing too.

Karkat sighed, hitting his forehead with his palm. "What are we going to do with him Carmine?"

Sollux pouted. "You're mean." Carmine made a happy squeak.

"I'm aware. You told me earlier." Karkat said as he brought the shirt over his head.

Sollux frowned. "Are you thtill mad about that?" he asked, his voice soft. "KK..."

"I'm not mad about it. I just don't like it being brought up... I was kidding about not knowing what to do with you. I love you and I want to cuddle and kiss and hug you... Among other things but we're not getting into that with Carmine here." He sighed. "I know how bad and out of control my temper can get but now I feel like I really need to control it for Carmine..."

Sollux smiled a little, leaning against him. "Mmm..." He hummed softly, wrapping his arms around him. "I don't mind cuddling." he said. "And of courthe everything elthe too." he smiled and hugged him tighter. "It will all be okay."

"I hope so... I don't want to fuck this up." Karkat said softly, leaning against Sollux. A sharp chirping noise caught his attention. "Carmine wants in on the hugging too..." He laughed.

Sollux smiled and kissed him gently before gently using his psionics to bring her over to them.

Karkat smiled, seeing how happy she looked to be held with Sollux's psionics. "She seems used to that. That's good." He put his head on Sollux's chest. "I'm so happy..."

"I am too." he said, smiling as he brought Carmine closer, taking her out of his psionics, and gently holding her.

"We need to finish getting ready..." Karkat murmured, feeling Carmine move one of her legs against his hair. "Recuperacoon."

"Yeth I know." he said, smiling. He stepped back, gently setting her on the bed.

"I say we nap after we get back with it." Karkat yawned. "I'm sleepy and I have work tomorrow..."

"I'm thleepy in general." he said, rubbing his eyes. "I can't wait to get back in." he said, sighing quietly. "I mith it."

"I hope Tav and Gam are going to do okay without one... I know for a fact that Tav won't let Gam anywhere near a recuperacoon..." Karkat sighed as he finished changing.

Sollux nodded. "Yeah..." he pulled a shirt on over his head. "They'd need one that'th open enough for Tav'th hornth too."

"True." Karkat sat on the bed, picking up Carmine and holding her in his arms. "You my little girl, are going to get to sleep in a recuperacoon for the... Have you ever slept in one before Carmine?"

Carmine nodded softly. "Daddy maketh noithe." She laughed and mimicked the sound of snoring.

Karkat bit his lip in an attempt to not laugh.

"Eh?" He looked at Carmine. "I do what now?' he quirked his eyebrow and changed into clean pants.

"She said that you snore..." Karkat said, a few giggles slipping out.

"Oh..." he blinked, shrugging his shoulders. "At leatht I don't purr." he grinned a sly grin and narrowed his eyes, nudging his arm as he walked by to get the bag by the bed.

"You..." Karkat stopped there, taking a deep breath. "You know you think it's cute." He finally decided to say.

"It ith." he grinned. "Ith adorable actually." he smirked and pulled out a cute pink frilly thing from the bag. "Hahahaha thith ith cute."

"Do you want to wear that Carmine?" Karkat asked the grub. She paused, thinking about it for a moment before nodding slowly. "Do you want the honors of dressing her first?" Karkat asked, walking over to Sollux and the pink frills.

Sollux shrugged. "Thure." He took the pink frilly... Sock... Thing and turned Carmine onto her back, struggling with pulling the pink frilly thing on her.

"That's so cute..." Karkat smiled, watching him. "What do you think Sollux?"

Sollux finally got the frilly thing on, with some struggles. "Ith a little big, but I think it will be okay." he smiled, watching her little legs poke out from the holes in the garment.

"Hold on. Pick her up. I want a picture!" Karkat smiled, picking his phone up off the nightstand.

Sollux laughed a little, picking her up and holding her gently.

Karkat grinned as he took the picture. "That is the sweetest picture in the world!"

Sollux smiled. "Father Daughter time right?" he snorted a little, holding her close. "We need like... A little thing to carry her in... Thath or thomething."

Karkat smiled. "I want to carry her." He held his arms out.

Sollux handed her to him, smiling as he grabbed whatever he needed. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Karkat smiled, grabbing Sollux's hand. 'First family outing!' He couldn't wipe the grin from his face.

Sollux smiled, following along with him. He sighed quietly as they got into the car. "I'm pretty thure thith ith illegal. Leth get a car theat too while we're out." he smiled a little bit.

"Well, Addison's is still in the car, isn't it?" Karkat asked.

"Oh yeah..." he remembered now. "Yeah. We thtill need our own though." he said. "Leth jutht uthe theirth for now." he smiled.

"Sounds like a plan." Karkat said, opening the back, passenger side door and situating Carmine into the car seat. "Does that feel okay?" He asked. Carmine gave a happy squeak. Karkat smiled and nodded closing the door and hurriedly getting into his seat. "Do you know where to go to look for a recuperacoon?"

Sollux blinked. "Uh..." he looked over at him. "... No?"

"Then looks like this is going to be an adventure!" Karkat smiled.

Sollux frowned. "Wouldn't they be at like... The bed thtore?" he frowned.

"I would think..." Karkat said softly. "I wonder if any of the others have gotten one…"

"I dunno." he frowned, pulling out of the drive way and heading towards the mall. "Thurely the mall hath thomething."

Karkat nodded, a smile on his face. "Hey Sollux... I love you." He said softly.

Sollux smiled. "I love you too." he said, grinning a little. He was fighting to stay awake. They arrived at the mall after a few minutes. "Thurely... Thereth thomething here." he frowned. He pulled into a parking spot.

"Yeah." Karkat said as he got Carmine out of the car seat. "Maybe they have a store for trolls now? I mean, it's been like two years since we were here last..."

"Yeah..." he nodded a little bit, gently looping his arm with Karkat's.

"This is nice." Karkat sighed, enjoying being with Sollux and Carmine. They had only had Carmine for a few hours but it just seemed to... Normal and right to have her there.

Sollux smiled and together they walked into the mall. Sollux walked up to the map, looking through it.

"The name of this store is in Alternian." Karkat pointed to one of the stores by the food court. "Maybe they have recuperacoons?"

"We could find out." he said, smiling gently. "Leth walk down that way."

Karkat nodded, holding Sollux's hand as they walked. Carmine chirped happily, seeming to enjoy her day out with the pair. 'What if I changed my last name to Captor? Karkat Captor... I like it.' He smiled to himself. It was so easy for him to forget that Sollux could read every thought in his head.

"KK, you forget I can hear you." He said in Alternian. "Ith kind of a thweet idea." he smiled. "It... It would be like... A f-family." he turned yellow.

"Yes I did forget... But I didn't say it aloud because I thought you would be against it since you kinda looked pissed when you saw it on the note..." He said softly, leaning against him. "But I like the idea of it. Being a family."

"I mean we're practically married." he laughed. "Whath the harm in it?" he smiled. "Bethideth, it would allow Carmine to be like a normal kid. Having one latht name and thtuff."

Karkat giggled happily. Sollux had said that they were married and that, to Karkat at least, that Sollux was completely his, forever and always. "What do you think Carmine?" He asked. She let out a happy but quiet skree. "Do you want to go to Daddy?" Carmine nodded, holding her legs out toward Sollux.

Sollux smiled, gently taking her. He held her gently against him as they continued walking. Several people stared. Many had never seen a grub before.

Karkat didn't notice the stares as they walked to the Alternian store. "There it is." He smiled as he pointed at it. "I hope they have recuperacoons..."

The owner of the store, an elderly troll smiled and welcomed them in with a smiled. "Hello!" she said, clearly speaking Alternian. "Oh my, is that a grub you have?"

"Yes." Karkat smiled, proudly. "Do you have recuperacoons by any chance?" He asked, walking over to the counter.

"We do. We just got some new ones in stock." She smiled brightly. Sollux walked closer, gently cradling Carmine.

"Awesome." Karkat smiled. "Do you want to check them out Sollux?" He asked, turning toward his matesprit.

Sollux nodded. "Yeth pleathe."

She led them towards the back of the store, where there was a display of about 4 different types of Recuperacoons varying in sizes.

Karkat looked at them all for a moment. The one on the very left looked a lot like the one he had had on Alternia. "Which one do you like?" He asked Sollux.

There was one that was fit for two people comfortably. "I like that one." he pointed to the biggest one. "I would be able to fit both of uth..." he said, walking over to it. It didn't have sopor slime in it, but they could climb inside and feel the roominess of it if they so pleased.

"Go ahead and try it out. That one is one of the nicest ones we have. It's got lots of room on the inside."

Karkat nodded, moving to climb into the recuperacoon. "It's nice." Slowly, he places himself inside of it. "I'll take Carmine while you climb in, Sollux."

He handed Carmine down into the pod as he climbed in. There was just enough room to stretch out entirely. "Mmmm thith ith wonderful."

Karkat curled up against Sollux. "This one. I've decided." He smiled up at Sollux. "Do you agree?"

Sollux smiled. "Yup. Ith gonna cotht a pretty penny though." he said, frowning.

"Worth it?" Karkat asked. "You'd get to sleep in sopor again."

"Yeah." he smiled. "How relaxing." he smiled. "I'll have to get uthed to it again."

"I think you'll be fine." Karkat smiled. "Let's get out and pay for this so we can go home and nap."

Sollux nodded. He climbed out and yawned. It was going to be tricky getting that thing home. He sighed softly and smiled.

"Do you have a delivery service?" Karkat asked the owner.

She nodded. "We do. It's a little bit more expensive, but we can have it delivered to you in a few hours."

"How much more expensive?" Karkat asked.

"About 30 dollars or so. It's not much." she smiled and walked over to the desk to get some paperwork. "That recuperacoon is 799." she said. Sollux looked at Karkat and frowned. "Can we afford that?"

"You're the one who handles the money. I just work at a restaurant... What about a payment plan?" Karkat asked.

"We have a payment plan. Over a course of a month, you can make payments. There's the extended one that is for 2 months if you'd rather have that one." Sollux nodded.

"The 2 month payment plan will work for me." he said. "Do we have to purchathe the thopor thlime too or doeth that come with it?"

"It comes with it."

"Awesome." Karkat smiled, holding Carmine close. "Are we going to do the delivery thing too? We can't get the recuperacoon in our car..."

"Yeth." Sollux said, smiling. The lady set up the plan and got their address. Sollux paid the down payment and smiled as the recuperacoon was put in for it to be delivered with a batch of sopor slime later that day.

Karkat smiled softly as the left the store. "I'm so excited!" He giggled. "We should to get ice cream!"

Sollux nodded. "We need to head home too at thome point." he smiled. "Alright?"

"I know but I want ice cream..." Karkat pouted. Carmine seemed to get excited at the word 'ice cream'. "Do you want some too?" He asked her. She let out a squeak and started to fidget.

Sollux smiled a little. "Alright, alright." he said, walking towards the food court. "Carmine, calm down." he smiled at her.

Carmine continued to chirp happily until they got to the ice cream place. "I want chocolate." Karkat said. "Carmine?"

"Boo and wed." She smiled.

Sollux smiled and stifled a giggle. "I'll have uh..." He looked at the ice cream selections. "I'll have 2 chocolateth, and a kidth birthday cake cup." he told the lady. "Carmine, honey, they have multi-color but ith not only blue and red ith that okay?' he smiled weakly at her.

Carmine thought about it for a minute but nodded her head. "Otay."

"That was so cute!" Karkat smiled, snuggling her close to him.

Sollux got the ice cream and got a table, sitting down. "Mmm." he took a bite of ice cream, hissing at the cold.

Karkat sat down, placing Carmine on the table. He fed her some of her ice cream before starting on his own. "She likes ice cream!" He giggled. "This is so cute!"

"It ith." he smiled as he took another bite. "Mmmmm."

Soon enough, everyone had finished their ice cream and decided to go home to rest before the recuperacoon got there. "I'm so sleepy..." Karkat yawned as they drove back to the house.

Sollux smiled. "I'm so happy to go home." he said. "I can't wait to thleep in my recuperacoon... I'm ekthauthted..."

"Work is going to be fun tomorrow..." Karkat said sarcastically. "I'm so tired..."

Sollux smiled. "You'll get decent retht with the coon." he said, smiling. "It'll be okay."

"Plus you'll be there and so will Carmine." He smiled lazily. 'Best day ever.'

He smiled. "Yeah. Leth go before I path out." he said, grabbing his things.

Karkat walked into the house, Carmine sleeping in his arms. "Cuddle on the couch before they get here?"

Sollux nodded. He curled up on the couch, closing his eyes. He fell asleep, but it didn't last long. Soon the doorbell rang.

"I'll go get it." Karkat said sleepily, setting Carmine on Sollux before going to get the door. "Hello." Karkat smiled to the delivery people.

"Show us where you want it." Said the man, getting right down to business. Karkat nodded and lead them up to his and Sollux's room.

"Over by the window should be okay." Karkat said.

Sollux got up, gently picking up Carmine before walking with her upstairs. They had started to pour the warm sopor slime inside the pod. "That lookth wonderful." he smiled. "I can't wait..."

Karkat nodded, leaning on Sollux gently. "Today has been an amazing day." He smiled softly. Soon the men finished pouring the slime into the coon.

"Thank you for your business. Enjoy your recuperacoon." They smiled as they left.

"I feel like I could sleep for two days straight..." Karkat smiled. He started to strip, not wanting to ruin his clothes with the slime.

Sollux smiled and used his powers to lock the door downstairs as he stripped down, climbing into the pod. "Oh my Gog..." he sank down into it, feeling instantly relaxed. "Damn..."

Karkat handed Carmine to him before climbing in himself. "Oh Gog... I missed this... Do you remember how we used to cuddle like all the time in your coon back on Alternia? That was always the best sleep that I ever got on Alternia."

Sollux shifted rolling onto his side. He was half asleep already. He mumbled something incoherent as he drifted into a deep sleep.

Karkat kissed his cheek before letting himself fall prey to the relaxing effects of the sopor slime. He didn't move throughout the whole night. The next morning, his alarm clock woke him up from the trance. "Fuck..." He mumbled as he climbed out of the recuperacoon. "Shower..." He sounded like a zombie and probably looked like one as he turned off the alarm clock and went to go wash the slime off

Sollux slept on, Carmine cuddled up on his chest, her lower half covered in slime. Both of them slept quietly, not moving.

Karkat didn't take long to shower before going back into the bedroom and changing into some pajamas. He looked over at the coon, grabbing his phone and taking a picture of the two that were still sleeping. "You two are so adorable..." He smiled as he walked downstairs and into the kitchen. He made enough breakfast for the 3 of them even though he wouldn't be able to eat with them. He ate his breakfast and wrote the pair a note. "Morning you two. I hope you slept well. There is fresh fruit with honey, bacon and eggs in the fridge for you. You two look so adorable sleeping in the coon. I love you and will be home around 5. 3 Karkat." He sat the note on the table before heading upstairs and changing into his uniform. He went outside, seeing that Gamzee and Tavros were a few minutes early. "Thanks for this you guys." He smiled as he got into the purple bus.

"No problem Karbro!" Gamzee smiled back at him.

Tavros smiled, wiggling around in his seat a little.

"I haven't had a chance to tell you guys yet but Sollux and I found a grub at our door yesterday. Her name is Carmine and she's mine and Sollux's grub from another timeline." Karkat started to tell them about all the cute things that Carmine had done the day before. "Can you believe it? It's so amazing!"

"Wow... That's awesome best friend." Gamzee smiled.

Tavros smiled brightly. "O-OH WOW!" he gasped, grinning widely.

"She's so cute!" Karkat smiled.

"What color is she?" Gamzee asked.

"She is mix between my red and Sollux's yellow. She's so cute! I have pictures." He couldn't stop grinning as he talked about Carmine.

"I can't wait to meet her." Tavros said, smiling.

"You can after you pick me up from work!" Karkat smiled.

"Sounds like a motherfucking plan!" Gamzee smiled.

Karkat arrived at work safely and a few minutes early. He walked over to his friend Michael. "Michael! The most amazing thing in the world happened yesterday!"

* * *

><p>Sollux heard a noise and slowly opened his eyes. How long had he slept? He heard Carmine before he saw her, his eyes focusing on her features as she nuzzled his cheek. "Carmine." he whispered. "Good morning."<p>

"Daddy!" She chirped. "Food?"

Sollux nodded, gently holding her as he climbed out of the coon. "Mmmmm." He carried her into the bathroom, grabbing a rag. He wiped off her body and set her down on the counter. "Let me thower and I'll come back and we'll go eat." he smiled. "Okay?"

She nodded, settling down on the counter.

Sollux hopped in the shower and came out, dressing quickly. He pulled on a pair of pants and sighed, gently picking her up. "Leth go eat." he smiled and carried her downstairs. He found the note and read it aloud to her. "Mommy had to go to work. He will be home around 5 okay?" he smiled and got the food out of the fridge, heating up what needed to be heated up.

Carmine chirped sadly. "Mommy..." She frowned. It was obvious that she wasn't used to not having both of them around. She perked up a little when she smelled the food but other than that was pretty confused and concerned about Karkat not being there.

Feferi picked up the phone, dialing Sollux.

Sollux heard his phone ringing. He used his powers to suspend Carmine in the air, smiling at her as he answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Good morning Sollux! I'm off for the day so I figured the grubs could have a playdate! If that's okay with you." Feferi smiled, playing with Addison.

"That'th fine by me." he grinned widely and shuffled a little bit, getting the food out of the microwave.

"Awesome. We'll be over at around 2." Feferi giggled. "Are you excited Addy?"

Carmine felt a sneeze coming on. This happened anytime that she was alone with Sollux. She sneezed, blasts of psionic energy bursting from her eyes.

Sollux nearly dropped the phone. "THIT!" he lashed out with his powers, capturing the blast. "Fuck." he mumbled, grabbing the phone. "Thorry Fef." he said. "Yeah, that thoundth like a great idea... I jutht hope... That doethn't happen again."

"What happened?" Feferi asked. "Is she okay? Are you okay?" She asked, her voice filled with worry.

"Carmine ith a thionic like me." he said, sighing softly. "The jutht almotht blew up the kitchen."

"Oh... Well then... This is really going to be an adventure for you, huh?" Feferi sighed. "Well, I hope you are okay. I'm going to go. It's time for Addy's bath. Bye Sollux!"

Sollux hung up and sighed, getting out the food and putting it down. He gently set her on the table. "Want me to feed you?" he asked, smiling.

She smiled and nodded. "Thorry... Optic blatht..." Carmine looked up at Sollux with huge blue and red eyes.

Sollux laughed. "You are tho cute. I can do that too." he said, smiling. "But I won't. Ith dangerouth."

Carmine nodded. She had seen Sollux do an optic blast before... When the giant red things tried to hurt Mommy... She had been so scared but Daddy saved Mommy and all was well.

Sollux smiled. He got images in his head and frowned. "Carmine..." he looked at her with big eyes. "What happened?"

She played the scene in her head.

Karkat was being chased by culling drones when he went to get some food. He was dressed in a tattered, grey cloak that had a cancer symbol holding the sides together. Sollux had seen it and put Carmine on his shoulder before yelling at Karkat to duck and releasing a giant optic blast, destroying the culling drones. Carmine levitated herself over to Karkat, landing in front of him as he shook from fear.

Sollux frowned. "Oh my Gog..." He gently picked her up. "Hey..." he whispered. "Ith okay."

Carmine nodded, rubbing against Sollux's cheek. "Daddy. Mommy. Thafe." She whispered.

Sollux smiled. "I'm glad." he said, holding her close. "Everything will be okay"

Carmine cuddled up at Sollux. "Food?" She asked, her tummy grumbling a little.

Sollux nodded. He grabbed the plate with food on it and set it in front of her. "Eat up and grow thtrong." he smiled.

Carmine giggled as she started to eat the eggs. The bacon presented a small problem because she didn't know what do to with it.

Sollux took a piece of bacon from the plate, biting into it. He smiled. "Eat the meat too." he said, handing her half a strip of bacon.

She nodded, following the example that Sollux had given. It took her a little longer to finish the bacon considering her size but she enjoyed it. After the meat was gone, she started eating the fruit.

Sollux smiled and ate quietly, leaning back in the chair. For once he felt at least somewhat rested. It was a wonderful feeling.

Carmine levitated herself off of the table and plopped right down on Sollux's chest. "Daddy." She smiled.

Sollux smiled. He held her close, grinning. "You're adorable. And you're lucky." he smiled, kissing her nose. "You're the daughter of a really powerful thionic. You know that?"

She nodded, letting images of people trying to recruit Sollux go through her mind as well as the psionics test that they put him through. The test wasn't anything dangerous, just a few tasks to see how strong his psionics were.

Sollux frowned. "Honey are you trying to tell me thomething?" he frowned, touching her cheek. He watched the images and sighed. He wondered if she knew she wasn't in the same timeline anymore.

"Love." She smiled softly. "Daddy love."

He smiled. "Awww..." he kissed her face gently. "I love you too." he said, patting her shell. "Do you know what'th going to happen soon?" he asked.

Carmine tilted her head to the side. "What?" she asked quietly.

"You are gonna get older." he smiled. "You'll grow armth and legth like Mommy and Daddy." he smiled.

She glared at him with a very Karkat like glare, sending the message of "No shit Sherlock."

Sollux glared back. "Don't look at me with that tone of voithe." he said, his tone a little sharp.

Carmine stuck her tongue out at him, showing the bifurcation. "Pthththtbt."

Sollux gasped. "No way..." he smiled a little and laughed. "Pthhhhtbht to you too." he smiled, sticking out his own tongue.

Carmine giggled as she blew raspberries at Sollux. The phone rang and immediately took hold of Carmine's attention. "Mommy?" She looked up at Sollux.

Sollux reached over. "Hello?" he asked as he answered it.

"Hey. Just wanted to check in with you two." Karkat smiled as he spoke. "I miss you guys already..."

"Awww." Sollux smiled. "I mith you too." He smiled down at Carmine. "Thay hi to Mommy."

"Mommy!" She chirped loudly.

Karkat smiled. "Hi Carmine! I'm sorry that I can't stay on for long. Lunch rush is about to hit so I will call you when I'm on break. I love you both!"

Sollux nodded. "Fef ith coming over later with Addithon." he smiled.

"That'll be fun! Has anything exciting happen other than this play date plan?" Karkat asked.

"Optic blatht!" Carmine giggled.

"Carmine let out an optic blatht earlier." he said, frowning. "I thought the wath going to blow up the whole kitchen."

"What happened? Is she okay?" Karkat started to panic.

"The thneezed." he said. "Nothing big."

"Really? Okay..." Karkat sighed, relief flooding his mind. "I'm glad that she's okay. I know how bad it hurt you when you did it... Well, I love you and I have to go. Kiss Carmine for me!"

"Will do. Have fun." he smiled, giving Carmine a kiss on the cheek.

Carmine giggled. "Mommy happy?" She asked, kissing Sollux's cheek back.

Sollux nodded. "Yup." he said, getting up. He sighed quietly. He made some fresh coffee.

Carmine sat on Sollux's shoulder. She yawned quietly before curling up in the crook of his neck and falling asleep.

Sollux sighed quietly, sipping his coffee. He let her sleep on his shoulder. Gently, he picked her up and curled up on the couch with her, closing his eyes gently. Sollux had fallen asleep on the couch. As usual, he had forgotten to lock the front door. He snored quietly, his mouth open, Carmine on his chest. Sollux, who wasn't fully awake, got up mumbling something. He had set Carmine on the couch where it was warm and stumbled around the house, his eyes shut.

* * *

><p>A few hours passed and Karkat looked at the clock on the wall. "It's almost time to go home?" he asked himself. 'Funny how I always lose track of time when I'm cooking...' He laughed as he finished searing the beef tips.<p>

Karkat smiled, as he hurried to gather his things after he clocked out. "Bye guys! See you on Wednesday!" He waved as he ran out to the bus.

* * *

><p>Gamzee got out of class early, he pulled his phone from his pocket. "hEy TaV. jUsT wAnTeD tO sAy HeY aNd I lOvE yOu." He sent the message. "HaVe A gOoD mUsIc ClAsS."<p>

Tavros reached for his phone, feeling it vibrate against his leg. "Oh..." He texted back. "tHANK YOU GAMZEE," He smiled and continued to push himself towards the school.

School ended for the both of them and Gamzee went and picked Tavros up before heading over to the restaurant.

Gamzee and Tavros sat in the bus, outside of the restaurant's back entrance. "wE'rE oUtSiDe." He sent the message to Karkat before grabbing Tavros' hand again. "Sean tried to talk to me again... He still smells like it. I almost got sick..."

Tavros worried about Gamzee every day. "I'm sorry..." he whispered, leaning against him. "Mmm...Gamzee..." He frowned.

"He invited me to one of his parties but I turned him down. I don't know why he keeps trying to talk to me." Gamzee sighed, kissing the top of the younger's head. "I love you so much Tav."

Karkat knocked on the door of the bus before getting in. It seemed like Gamzee and Tavros were having a moment.

"Hey Kar! How was work?" Gamzee smiled, looking back at him.

"It was nice." Karkat smiled.

Tavros smiled, leaning on him. "You smell really good." he grinned. "You smell like... How really nice restaurants smell." he giggled a little bit and moved away from Gamzee a little bit so he could drive.

"I kinda work at a nice restaurant Tav..." Karkat laughed.

Gamzee laughed as well, putting the bus in reverse and heading back toward the home of Sollux and Karkat Captor.

Tavros smiled. "I know you do." he turned so he could look back at Karkat. "Do you know how to make any good vegetarian meals?"

"Yeah. Just tell me what you would want in it and I can come up with something!" He smiled.

Tavros thought about it. "Mmmm... I really, really like veggies." he laughed a little. "Maybe a vegetable stir-fry?"

* * *

><p>Sollux bumped into the corner of the kitchen table, not even phased by it as he stumbled into the living room, picking up things as he slept. He was muttering something quiet in his sleep.<p>

Sollux clambered up the stairs, picking up things here and there. Most of the stuff on the ground was pieces of clothing or cloth that had somehow made its way out of the bedroom. On his way back down the stairs however, he missed the last three steps and went tumbling to the ground, laying there out cold.

"Not a problem." Karkat smiled. "Well, thanks you guys from always doing this. I'll think about a recipe tonight and have it for you tomorrow." He said, getting out of the bus. He walked inside the house. "Sollux?" He started to panic as he went to his matesprit's side. "Sollux... Baby... Please wake up..." Karkat whimpered as he shook Sollux gently. "Wait... Where's Carmine?" He got up and ran into the living room. A small wave of relief came over him as he found her sleeping on the couch.

Sollux shifted a little, opening his eyes. He shut them when a wave of pain went through his head. "What the fuck..." he hissed quietly. "My head..."

Karkat turned back around, going to Sollux's side. "Are you okay? What happened?" He asked, rubbing Sollux's back.

He sat up, holding his head. "Nnn... I... I don't know. I wath athleep on the couch..." he coughed a little. "I don't know how I got here."

"Carmine is still sleeping." Karkat informed him. "Stay here. I'm going to go get the first aid kit..."

Sollux nodded. He hadn't been wearing his glasses, thank Gog. He didn't want those to get broken. He watched as Karkat returned, the box in hand. "Nnn... My head hurtth..." he sighed. "My thide too... What the fuck."

"Well, you have a bruise forming on your side and a gash on your forehead." He sighed as he got out the antiseptic. "This is going to sting. Keep your eyes closed." Karkat said before gently cleaning the wound.

Sollux winced, but kept his eyes closed. "Nnn.. Damn..." he sighed. "KK I'm tho glad I have you."

"Me too." Karkat smiled, being as gentle as he could. "It's not deep so you really just need to keep it clean."

"Okay." he said, frowning. "I'll do my betht." he frowned and shifted. "I'm thorry..."

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux. "I was so worried. I thought you were really hurt..." He shivered. "That was not what I was expecting to see when I came home from work..."

Sollux sighed quietly, gently wrapping his arms around him. "I love you... I'm thorry I thcared you."

"I know. I love you too Honey Bee." He smiled softly. "Is there anything that you want special for dinner?"

"I don't have anything in mind." he smiled weakly and shifted. "KK... Thank you." he said, smiling, kissing his cheek. "Help me up?" he asked, smiling a little bit.

Karkat sighed but stood and held his hands out for Sollux. "You know you could just lift yourself with your psionics..." He smirked.

"I know." he said, smiling. "I want you to do thith though." he smiled, taking his hands.

Karkat pulled him up to him. "Happy?" He smiled at Sollux as he entwined their fingers.

Sollux smiled. "Yup."

"Kiss me you lispy dork." Karkat giggled.

Sollux grinned and leaned in to kiss him, his arms gently wrapping around Karkat's waist. "Mmmm..."

Karkat kissed him back, letting his hands rest on Sollux's shoulders. When he pulled back, a soft purple blush covered his face. He leaned against Sollux, bringing his arms around his shoulders. "This is nice."

"It ith." he grinned and shifted a bit, smirking. "I with that I could do tho much with you right now." he smiled.

The soft purple became dark purple as Karkat thought about Sollux's words. "You are such a pervert..." He whimpered, burying his face in Sollux's chest.

"You like it." he said, grinning, his hands snaking down Karkat's back, gently rubbing his lower back.

"Hey. Carmine is right over there on the couch." Karkat glared.

Carmine shifted, a small squeak of a yawn coming from her as she woke. She began to chirp loudly when she realized that she wasn't laying on Sollux anymore.

Sollux frowned. "Nnnn..." he kissed Karkat again before going over to her side. "Hey." he said, using his powers to pick her up.

Karkat followed behind him. "Carmine." He smiled softly, taking her in his arms. "It's okay. We're here."

"Mommy!" She skreed, happy to see Karkat again. Carmine shifted in an attempt to hug Karkat with her little legs.

Karkat laughed at the attempt but held her close. "I missed you too."

Sollux smiled and sighed. "I'm thtarving." he said, rubbing his eyes. He had a scratch in the corner of his eye from the fall.

Karkat nodded, carrying Carmine into the kitchen. "Want to help me cook little one?"

Carmine skreed with joy. "Theethee (CC) help!"

Sollux giggled. He sighed and leaned against the wall, watching. "You guyth are tho cute."

Karkat shook his head and rolled his eyes but there was a smile there. "What should we make Carmine?"

"Theketti!" She laughed.

Karkat grinned. "Spaghetti it is. That okay with you, Daddy?"

Sollux nodded. "Fine by me." he grinned and went to put the first aid kit away.

Karkat smiled as he sat Carmine down on the counter. He grabbed the pan to boil the water in. "Carmine, can you turn the water on for me?"

She nodded, concentrating her psionics on turning the faucet so the water came out.

Karkat smiled as he filled the pot with water and then turned it off himself.

Sollux clapped, grinning. "Good job" he said, smirking. "Mmmm~" he hummed and went to go pick things up and move them around. He wanted to feel productive.

Carmine giggled as she crawled over to toward the stove, watching the burner heat up.

"Don't get too close Carmine. It's hot and it will hurt you." Karkat said. "How about you come over here and help me get the stuff for garlic bread?"

"Yay!" She squeaked crawling up Karkat's arm.

Sollux watched them. He loved how Karkat was being the perfect mother. He grinned and crossed his arms over his still bare chest. "KK, you know..." he began. "I'm tho happy... Thith ith like... A dream come true."

"Tell me about it. Carmine, can you grab the garlic for me?" Karkat asked, pointing to it.

Carmine concentrated and began to lift the bulb like herb out of the fridge.

"Very good." Karkat smiled. "Look at how good she's doing Sollux!"

"I can thee." he smiled. "I'm proud of her. Really."

Karkat and Carmine smiled at him. For the next 20 minutes, Carmine listened carefully to Karkat's instructions. By the time that dinner was done, little Carmine was exhausted and starving.

"Be careful sweetie, it's hot." Karkat laughed as Carmine started to eat her little bowl of spaghetti.

Sollux sat down and begin to eat. It was wonderful, some of the best spaghetti he had ever had.

Karkat ate quietly, taking breaks here and there to help Carmine. "I think Carmine is a sleepy little grub." He smiled, picking her up. "I'm going to take her upstairs so she can sleep."

Sollux nodded. "Then maybe we can watch a movie or thomething?" he frowned. "Would that be okay?"

"A movie sounds nice." Karkat smiled as he carried the sleeping Carmine upstairs. Gently, he laid her on Sollux's pillow. "Sweet dreams love." He whispered, kissing her forehead gently.

Sollux smiled. He went and laid down on the couch, stretching out. He wanted tonight to be good.

Karkat walked back downstairs. "What do you want to watch?" He asked, walking over to the couch.

"Hmmm..." he thought about it. "Thomething that doethn't require a lot of thought."

"Romcom it is." Karkat smirked, going and putting one of his favorite romcoms in. He went back over to the couch, snuggling up to Sollux. "Push play whenever."

Sollux smiled, hitting play on the remote. "Mmm... Kith me?" he asked, pulling Karkat over him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders.

Karkat smiled, leaning in to kiss Sollux. After a moment he pulled back. "I love you."

Sollux grinned a wicked grin. "Mmm KK..." he slid his hand down between their bodies, his fingers brushing over skin as he slipped his fingers under Karkat's shirt. "Ehehehe..."

Karkat gasped a little. Sollux's fingers were cold against his skin but they left the most delicious trails of heat. "Sollux..." He whimpered... "What about..."

"The'th upthtairth thleeping." He smiled. "It will be fine. We just have to be quiet." he grinned. "Am I not allowed to touch my matethprit?"

Karkat nodded, leaning into the touch. "Aaaahn..." He moaned quietly. 'Be gentle...'

"I am." he said, smiling. "You think I'm going to hurt you?" he smiled and gently pushed Karkat back over the couch, crawling over him. He kissed his neck, leaving trails of saliva as he worked his way down. He tugged at Karkat's shirt.

"No... I know I'm louder when you're rough." Karkat stated, lifting his shoulders off the couch so Sollux could get his shirt off. "I just don't want to wake Carmine up."

"You'll be fine." he smiled. He moved his hands down Karkat's body having rid his lover of his shirt. He tossed it to the floor, licking over his chest.

"Ah..." Karkat sighed, keeping one of his hands near his mouth. He looked down at Sollux, his eyes half-lidded. "Baby..."

Sollux grinned, moving further down his body. "It'th been forever." he said, smirking. "Hathn't it?" he smiled. He moved his hands to Karkat's hips. "Hipth up."

Karkat shifted his hips up. "It has." He smirked. "You're fingers are amazing..."

Sollux grinned. "Yup." he said, smirking. He showed his fingers. "They're longer now it theemth." he said, pulling Karkat's pants and boxers off, tossing them on the floor before parting Karkat's legs. "Mmm~" he grinned and gently stroked the sheath of his bone bulge.

Karkat covered his mouth with both of his hands, the only sound that could be heard were soft whimpers and gasps. He watched as Sollux stroked his sheath. 'Please...' Was the only word going through Karkat's mind.

Sollux smirked, moving down between his legs, slipping a couple fingers into his nook, his tongue lashing out against the sheath. "Heh..."

Karkat bit his lip under his hand to keep himself from screaming in pleasure.

Katie walked across the street. She had finished her homework and figured she would go hang out with Sollux, Karkat and Carmine. She didn't feel the need to knock so she just walked in through the door. She heard something coming from the living room.

Sollux didn't hear the door open. He licked the sheath again, feeling it open. He grinned as he slipped another finger into Karkat's nook, licking down the side of Karkat's now exposed bonebulge.

Karkat bit his lip harder, almost drawing blood. 'Fuck... Harder...' He said in his mind for he dare not say it aloud.

Katie stopped in the doorway of the living room.

Karkat tilted his head back up to watch Sollux's movements when he noticed the human girl. "Fuck... Sollux... Katie..."

Sollux gasped, pulling his hand out of Karkat's nook, wiping his hand on his pants. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "f-Fuck!" he cursed, grabbing something to cover Karkat with. "G-Gahh..." He had purple splotches on his face mixed with his bright yellow blush on his cheeks. His hand was stained purple.

"Uhh..." Katie finally spoke. "Sorry... I didn't... Bye." She turned and ran back over to her house, her face bright red.

"Fuck..." Karkat covered his face with the blanket. "Just... Fuck..." He sighed. 'What do we do now?'

Sollux sighed. "Leth finith and then I'll go talk to her... But let'th at leatht finith." he licked his fingers and stroked what was still his exposed bone bulge.

"Pervert." Karkat smirked as he uncovered himself.

Sollux smirked. "Yup." He leaned down and took Karkat's bonebulge into his mouth, pushing fingers into Karkat's nook again.

Karkat immediately brought his hands up to his mouth, stifling a moan. 'Oh Gog...' He moaned in his head, hoping that would please Sollux.

Sollux grinned. He used his tongue to suck around Karkat's bonebulge before pulling back. He used his psionics to remove his pants, showing his now emerging bonebulges. "Nnngh fuck."

Karkat moaned but the sound was mostly stifled by his hands. 'Take me... Please...'

Sollux grinned. He removed his fingers and pulled back. He moved over him, feeling his bonebulges start to wriggle. He pushed one against Karkat's nook, letting it slip inside. "Nnngh fuck..." he gripped the sides of the couch, pushing it further into him, the other curling around Karkat's.

Karkat tried so hard to keep his moans quiet and his hands pressed against his mouth. He thrust his hips up, taking Sollux further. 'This feels so good.'

"KK..." he panted, pushing in further. "Put yourth in too." he said, shifting his hips a little.

'But... You're not...' Karkat couldn't finish his thought. 'You're not prepared...'

"I'll be fine." he said. He shifted slightly, feeling his second bulge move away from Karkat's, curling in on itself, the very tip of it sliding into his nook. He gasped and whimpered.

Karkat nodded, moving his bonebulge to Sollux's nook. 'Are you sure?'

Sollux moaned and nodded, his bulge moving away from his nook, moving towards Karkat's instead. "Pleathe..."

Karkat moved his bulge so just the tip was inside Sollux's nook, teasing him.

Sollux moaned, trying to be quiet but failing. He quivered and moaned. "F-Fuck, KK... You teathe..." He felt his second bulge push into Karkat's nook.

Karkat moved his hands away from his mouth just so Sollux could see him smirk. "I've always been a bit of a sadist."

"I notithed." he said, trying to push down on the bulge, feeling his own wriggling inside Karkat's nook.

Karkat let his bonebulge slid in completely. "Better?" He moaned softly, feeling both of Sollux's bonebulges move inside of him.

Sollux cried out, leaning over Karkat, resting his head on his chest. "Nngh oh fuck... Fuck fuck..." he felt Karkat moving inside of him. It felt wonderful. He thrust his hips forward, completely filling Karkat with his bulges. "Nngh fuck... KK..."

"Gog... Keep your fucking voice down!" Karkat moaned quietly. "Carmine is... Ahhh... Sleeping..."

Sollux grumbled, slamming against him, feeling Karkat slide all the way into him. He covered his mouth and bit down onto his hand.

Karkat barely kept his moan in as Sollux thrust deep into him. 'Ah... Fuck...'

Sollux moaned. "Fuck KK... We're making a huge meth..." he said, his voice quiet as he thrust his hips forward again.

"I'll clean it up when you go... Talk to Katie... Oh Gog..." He whimpered, leaning up and kissing Sollux's neck, leaving small yellow marks.

Sollux moaned and thrust into him deeper, his bulges squirming. "Nnn KK I'm clothe..."

He nodded and started to nip gently at his neck. "Me too." He whimpered in Sollux's ear.

Sollux grinded his hips against Karkat's gently, moving as much as he could. He felt his body shudder and shake. He gasped out, feeling an orgasm rip through his body. "K-KK."

Karkat bit down on Sollux's neck as his release came. He knew that if he hadn't, he would have screamed. After a moment, he pulled away. "Fuck... Sollux..."

Sollux shuddered, moving back, feeling his bulges slide out from Karkat's nook. He let the muscles retract, sliding back into his body as he pulled himself off of Karkat's bonebulge. "Nnngh..." he shuddered, feeling his body drip with hot genetic material. "Nnnn..."

Karkat shivered as his bonebulge retracted. He wrapped his arms around Sollux's shoulders. "I'm keeping you hostage for a few more minutes to cuddle."

Sollux nodded, smiling. "Mmmm..." he kissed Karkat's head gently. "Make thure you clean it up good." he smiled.

"I am the master of cleaning. I work in a restaurant." He laughed softly. "I can clean anything."

Sollux smiled, touching his face, kissing him gently. "Mmmm." He grinned. "I'm going to have to go and get cleaned up so I can go apologithe to her."

Karkat nodded. "Yeah... That was... Unexpected. To say the least." He said softly, his face bright purple.

"The probably wanted to hang out here. Tho I might go thee if the wanth to come over. Ith that okay?" he frowned. "Think you can get it cleaned up that quick?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

Katie sat in her room, trying to figure out what she had seen. Her friends had shown her yaoi so she knew how guys had sex with another guy but Sollux and Karkat... They weren't human... So...

Sollux sighed. He got cleaned up and dressed. He walked across the street, ringing the doorbell. He hoped it wasn't too late.

Katie's mom answered the door. "Good evening Sollux. What brings you over?"

Katie ran her hands through her hair. "I don't know what I think about this..."

"I wanted to thee if Katie wath in." He smiled sweetly.

"She's in her room. It's the green door upstairs." She smiled, letting Sollux inside.

Sollux nodded. He stepped inside and walked up the stairs. "Thank you." he said, as he gently knocked on the green door.

"Who is it?" Katie asked, staying on her bed. She really didn't want to talk to her mom about the fact that she had walked in on her crush and his matesprit...

"Tholluckth." he said, smiling. "May I come in?"


	44. Chapter 44

"Um... Yeah..." She said, pulling her knees to her chest in an attempt to hide her blush.

Sollux opened the door. The room was very green. He shut it behind him, smiling. "Hey... Thorry about earlier..."

"It's okay. I should know better than to just walk into to a house..." She laughed nervously. Seeing them like that had broken her heart and made her curious at the same time. "Guess I have figured out how the whole Troll anatomy thing works..."

Sollux blushed. "H-how much did you thee?" he asked, sitting down on the floor, pulling his knees to his chest.

"All of it... Well... All of Karkat..." She said softly. "I'm sorry..."

"Ith okay." he said. "I mean... We all kind of... Have that happen to uth." he smiled weakly. "I'm jutht... Glad you didn't thee me." He felt even more flushed. "I'm groth."

"Why would you say that?" Katie asked. "I don't think you're gross."

"Trutht me." he said, feeling a little self-conscious. "Anyone with genitalth like me thould be athhamed."

"Karkat seems to like them." Katie smirked. "If it has to do with the fact that your blood is yellow, then you are stupid and need to get over that."

"No... It hath nothing to do with that." he said, shaking his head. He gave a little nervous laugh.

"Then what?" Katie asked. "You're amazing, Sollux."

"I have two bulgeth." He blurted out, shoving his face into his knees. This girl was his moirail. He should be able to tell her anything... Right?

"Really? That must be interesting." Katie said. "I'm going to guess and say that a bulge is the troll equivalent to a penis..."

"Yeah..." he blushed even darker. "Only... All... Thlimy..." he shivered, peering over his knees, keeping most of his face hidden.

"I could tell..." She said softly. "Well, I would say that it doesn't really matter as long as Karkat is okay with it." Katie shrugged as she spoke but her mind was going crazy with wondering how it would feel to have sex with Sollux.

Sollux sighed. "Oh he'th okay with it. That'th not a problem." he said, grumbling. "Ith jutht... I'm thorry you had to thee all of that. I wath wondering if you wanted to come hang out... Now that we are uh... Finithed."

"I think that would be a bit awkward for all three of us..." Katie said. "I can come over tomorrow after school, if that's okay with you."

"KK will be at work." he frowned. "That'th fine though." he smiled a little bit.

"Oh... Okay. I don't want to be a bother." She smiled softly.

"No no it'th fine." he smiled a little. "It'th all good." he fidgeted his hands a bit.

"I mean... If you really want to hang out now... I don't mind. I just don't want to make you guys feel even more awkward..." Katie said, looking at him.

Sollux smiled. "It'th really okay." he said. "Whatever it ith you want to do."

"Um... Well... It's 7:30 and my homework is done so I guess I can come over for a little bit..." She smiled at him.

Sollux smiled. "Alright. Carmine ith athleep, tho we'll have to be kinda quiet, but thath okay." he smiled. "And if you want you can come over tomorrow too." he said, standing up. "Ith up to you."

"Sounds fine to me." Katie said softly. 'So that's why they were... She was asleep...'

Sollux offered his hand to her. "Ready?" he smiled.

She looked up at him, confused but she grabbed his hand. "Yeah." Katie smiled. 'And this is the reason I like him.'

Sollux helped her off the bed. "Trying to at leatht make up for the fact I embarrathed the fuck out of mythelf and of you too." he said, blushing.

"Seriously, it's fine." She smiled. "Thanks..."

Sollux sighed and walked to the door, opening it up. He headed back downstairs.

Katie followed him. She was doing an extremely good job at hiding the fact that she was blushing like crazy. "Hey... Sollux... We're moirails, right? That means that I can tell you anything and you'll be blunt with me too, right?"

Meanwhile, Karkat had been working on cleaning the couch and himself. He jumped out of the shower, toweling himself off quickly. "They should be here soon..." He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he said, turning around to face her. "Pretty much."

"Okay. Just checking." She smiled at him.

"Why?" he asked. "Ith thomething up?" He paused, leaning against the wall by the door.

"Not really. It's more of something that I can't do anything about but it's not a big deal." She smiled. "Let's get inside."

Sollux nodded. They walked across the street and walked back into his home. "KK I'm back."

Karkat smiled as he came down the stairs. "Oh... Hey Katie... I'm really sorry about earlier..." He smiled nervously.

"It's fine Karkat. You two are a couple so it's my bad for not thinking and just walking in." She smiled.

Sollux smiled and walked over, hugging Karkat. "Mmm... You thmell good." he said, smelling his hair. "Did you thower?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "Please keep in mind that Carmine is sleeping and that we need to be quiet."

Katie nodded. "Sollux already warned me."

"Yup." He smiled and walked into the living room to make sure that the purple and yellow releases of both of them had been cleaned up. It was such a pain being a troll... Everything was so messy.

"Is it safe?" Katie asked sarcastically as she walked in and sat down where Karkat's head had been.

Karkat smirked at Sollux. "Told you that I was the master of cleaning."

"Ith fine." he laughed, plopping down where he had set before. "Mmm~" he hummed. "Ith been a good day."

"Said the person who slept all day." Karkat said as he sat down beside Sollux.

"You're not the one who had a programming test that they probably failed!" Katie said glaring at Sollux.

Sollux frowned. "Okay okay!" he threw his hands up. "It'th bathh Tholluckth day." he laughed a little bit and leaned back on the couch.

"You know I love you." Karkat smiled leaning against him.

"You're lucky you're not in high school anymore." Katie laughed.

"I pathed all my programming clatheth in high thcool. I graduated top of my clath." He smiled a little bit, rubbing Karkat's head, his hand accidentally brushing against his horns.

"He's a show off." Karkat glared at him. 'Stop touching my horns.'

Sollux laughed a little bit. "Thorry KK." he moved his hand, a blush crossing his features.

"That's funny. I could picture Sollux being a show off." Katie laughed. "You two are absolutely adorable together."

"Thanks..." Karkat smiled at her.

Sollux shifted, laying his head against him. "Mmm~ Tho." he pursed his lips. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure." Katie said.

"What movie?" Karkat asked.

"I will probably sound like such a nerd but do you have any Disney movies?" She asked.

Karkat nodded. "On the second shelf of the movie cabinet."

Sollux smiled. "Yeah... We have... Uh... A lot of them." he blushed a little, looking away.

"You have the Lion King! Can we watch that?" Katie asked, a huge grin on her face.

"Sure. Put it in." Karkat laughed.

Sollux hadn't seen that one yet. He curled up on the couch, grabbing a blanket and draping it over all three of them. The movie started.

Katie smiled, leaning a little on Sollux. If it wasn't okay, she hoped that Sollux would tell her.

Karkat was excited, he loved this movie.

The movie got to that part. The part where Timon and Pumba start eating the bugs. Sollux gasped, pointing at the TV, tears starting to stream down his face. "OH MY GOG NO DON'T EAT THEM!"

Karkat and Katie both looked at Sollux with confusion. "What's wrong?" Karkat asked. "Are you okay?"

"Sollux..." Katie said putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay..."

Sollux SOBBED. He let out a horrible sounding noise, before sniffling. "THEY ATE THE GRUBTH THOTHE HORRIBLE PEOPLE!"

"Oh my god. That's your problem?" Katie asked. "Thanks for fucking scaring me."

"Sollux, listen to me. It's not real. It's an animated movie. No one is actually eating any grubs." Karkat said softly, trying to calm him. "Carmine is safe and in our room."

Sollux sniffled, sinking back into the couch a little bit. "B-B... B-but..."

"Baby, listen to me. This is a movie. It's not real grubs being eaten. Carmine is safe." He looked at Sollux, trying not to laugh.

"Some earth creatures actually eat bugs. What we call grubs are just bugs, they aren't anything to fret over. No one is going to try to eat Carmine." Katie said, patting his shoulder. "She's completely safe."

Sollux sniffled and leaned back into the couch, covering his face in the blanket. "Thorry..." he said, wiping at his eyes.

"It's fine, love." Karkat smiled.

"I'm going to hug you. Karkat, join me in hugging Sollux." Katie smiled as she hugged him tightly.

Karkat smiled, wrapping his arms around his lover. "Everything is okay."

Sollux sniffled and leaned his head on Karkat's chest, keeping his arms pinned to his sides. He pulled back the blanket and watched the movie.

* * *

><p>Tavros and Gamzee had decided to buy something called Alcohol. Tavros had never heard of it. Apparently Gamzee was old enough to buy it now. Tavros had sat out in the bus. Together they drank it. Tavros felt fuzzy inside and began to giggle as they watched TV. Heat spread through him. This was nice, he thought, grinning.<p>

Gamzee giggled at something that the girl on the screen said before looking at Tavros. "Tav... I love you." He slurred as he wrapped his arms around Tavros. "You're so adorable and I love you so much."

"Gamzee I love you more." he giggled and leaned against him, looking up as he pursed his lips. "Gamzee I want a kiss."

Gamzee smiled, giving Tavros a gentle kiss. "I love Tav kisses." He giggled, kissing him again.

Tavros kissed him back with a little bit of force. He licked at Gamzee's lips. "Nnnn..." His face flushed.

In the back of his mind, Gamzee was shocked that Tavros was acting like this. He parted his lips a little, letting Tavros have the chance to explore his mouth with his tongue.

Tavros kissed him deeply, letting his tongue mesh against Gamzee's. He felt his body getting hot. He pulled back. "Gamzee..." He tugged at his own shirt, trying to pull it off, having a hard time.

"Want some help?" Gamzee asked, his body felt funny and he felt the need to tell Tavros how much he loved him.

Tavros nodded. "Yeah..." He pulled at Gamzee's shirt instead.

Gamzee pulled Tavros' shirt off of him. "Better?" He asked, lazily. "I love you so much Tav. You mean everything to me." He smiled.

Tavros smiled. "Gamzee..." he shifted his hips. "Take my pants off..." he blushed. "I want you to touch me."

Gamzee was taken aback for a moment. Tavros was never forward. Ever. He nodded, keeping his gaze locked with Tavros' and started to slowly undo his pants. He took him out of his pants and started to gently stroke him.

Tavros couldn't have helped it. His bulge had already fully revealed itself. He threw his head back when Gamzee touched him. It felt really good. "A-Ah! Gamzee!" he gasped out.

Gamzee gasped as Tavros' bulge wrapped around his hand. He leaned up, kissing his neck gently as his bulge started to emerge from his sheath as well.

Tavros whimpered. "Nnngh G-Gamzee..." He reached out gently trying to undo Gamzee's pants. "I want to touch." he breathed out, shifting his hips, feeling Gamzee's fingers lightly brush against his nook.

Gamzee brushed against his matesprit's nook again. "Okay..." He moaned softly. He was so confused but at the same time happy that Tavros was being forward with what he wanted. "Do whatever you want. I love you Tav..."

Tavros worked Gamzee's pants down his hips, his fingers gently playing with the exposed part of Gamzee's bulge. He moved his fingers on the underside, feeling the ridges and bumps.

Gamzee moaned loudly as Tavros touched him. "Gog... Tav... That's amazing." He said breathlessly. This was new and Gamzee liked it. "I like this confidence..." He smirked, pushing slightly into Tavros' nook with his finger.

Tavros gasped out feeling Gamzee move his fingers. "Nnnn... G-Gamzee please... More." he begged, his hand moving harder on Gamzee's bulge, his own, gently wrapping around Gamzee's hand.

Gamzee smirked and pushed his finger inside. He moved it gently as he started to kiss Tavros' neck again, moaning against the flesh when Tavros would hit a sensitive spot on his bulge.

Tavros arched back. "Nnnn!" he whimpered, pushing his hips down against Gamzee's finger. "Nnnn put more in... More fingers." He whimpered. "F-Faster."

Gamzee did as Tavros wanted, adding two more fingers as well as moving them faster. "Anything for my prince." He smiled, nipping at his neck.

"G-Gamzee..." he moaned, his bulge tightening against Gamzee's hand. The alcohol was rushing through his body. "Nnnn... G-Gamzee I... I want your bulge in me." he felt his fingers slip from Gamzee's bulge. He licked his fingers.

Gamzee watched his eyes wide as Tavros licked his hands clean of the purple genetic material. He shifted slightly before he let the tip of his bonebulge play at Tavros' nook. "You want what again?"

Tavros blinked innocently at him. "Gamzee, I want your bulge in me." he said, "Please?" he flushed brown and shifted, feeling Gamzee play with him. "Nnn please put it in."

Gamzee brought his hips up, letting his bonebulge completely slide into Tavros. "That was the most miraculous thing you have ever said Tav..." He moaned.

Tavros cried out, gripping onto Gamzee as tightly as he could. His bulge wrapped around whatever it could grab onto. It slid around, trying to slip into Gamzee's nook.

"Do you want to be in mine too?" Gamzee asked as he bent down, brushing his nipple with his tongue. "Just let me know what you want me to do."

Tavros nodded a little bit, shifting closer to Gamzee, his bulge sinking into Gamzee's nook.

"Oh fuck... " Gamzee moaned. This was a first for him and Gog it felt amazing. "Tav..." He let his bulge move inside Tavros a little more before bringing his hips up in a gentle thrusting motion. He cried out, feeling Tavros go deeper.

Tavros gasped, digging his nails into Gamzee's shoulders. "A-A-H oh Gog!" he cried out.

Gamzee wrapped his arms around Tavros' waist as he kept thrusting. "Tav... Oh fuck this is amazing." He moaned.

Tavros used his muscles to make his bulge squirm. He cried out, moving against Gamzee.

Gamzee froze, feeling the sudden movement in his nook. He cried out in pleasure, gently scraping his nails down Tavros' back.

"A-! Gamzee" he cried out, his bulge squirming. "Nnghhhhggg!" he gasped and shifted his hips, moaning at the feeling of Gamzee moving inside of him.

Gamzee started to thrust up again, moaning and gasping with every movement. "Tav... Kiss me..."

Tavros looked up, kissing him deeply, gently biting his lower lip as he felt his whole body twinge in excitement.

Gamzee smirked as Tavros drew blood on his lip. Slowly, he licked his lip before claiming the Taurus' mouth again, his hips still moving back and forth.

Tavros cried out, moving his bulge as best he could in and out of Gamzee, his whole body shuddering. "Gamzee..." he whispered before Gamzee claimed his mouth again, his tongue lapping at the insides of Gamzee's hot mouth.

Gamzee reached around him, grabbing his ass as he thrust up. He moaned into the kiss as Tavros' bulge pushed further into him. 'Motherfucking miracles man.'

Tavros nearly screamed. He released his genetic material into Gamzee, gasping and whimpering as he clung to Gamzee tightly.

Gamzee gasped, releasing into Tavros. "Fuck Tav..." He moaned, shifting his hips slowly, riding out their orgasm.

Tavros clung to him, holding on tight as he panted, gripping his shoulders. He felt his bulge retract slowly, pulling out of Gamzee. "Nn... Nnnn..." he whimpered.

Gamzee sighed as he shifted back, letting his bonebulge slip out of Tavros. "That was amazing." He whispered, kissing by Tavros' ear as his bonebulge retracted.

Tavros kissed his face. "Mmmm..." he breathed quietly, licking Gamzee's cheek. "I'm sleepy." he said softly. "Can we sleep?"

"Of course." He smiled softly. "I think I like this alcohol stuff."

Tavros smiled. "It makes me feel funny. I don't know if I like it that much." he kissed Gamzee again, snuggling close to him.

"You have to admit though. It caused miracles." Gamzee laughed lightly. "I love you Tav."

Tavros smiled. "Love you too." he curled up next to him, falling asleep.

Gamzee soon fell asleep. He awoke with a pain in between his eyes. "Oww..." His entire body hurt. "Ah... Fuck..." He murmured, pulling Tavros close.

Tavros quivered, his whole form shaking. "Nnnn Gamzee..." He winced. "I feel sick..."

Gamzee nodded. "Do you need to go to the bathroom?" He asked, keeping his voice quiet.

"Nnngh... No more alcohol. Ever."

Tavros nodded quietly. "Nn...Y-Yes..." He felt bile building up in the back of his throat.

Gamzee picked Tavros up carefully and took him to the bathroom. He kept the lights off, using the sunlight the flooded the apartment to see. Gently, he sat Tavros by the toilet as he rubbed his back. "I'm sorry I ever brought up getting that stuff."

Tavros whimpered. He felt his stomach heave as he got sick several times, his whole form shaking. He curled up in Gamzee's arms. "Nnnn... Nnnnnnn..." he shivered. "No... Never again..." he felt tears come down his cheeks. "Nnnn..."

"I'm so sorry Tav... I didn't know that it did this..." Gamzee said softly, rubbing Tavros' arms.

Tavros whimpered. "It's not your fault Gamzee..." he whispered, rubbing his eyes. "I'll be okay."

Gamzee picked Tavros up and took him back to the bedroom. "Keep your eyes closed, I'll go and get you some medicine for your head." He whispered, leaning down and kissing his forehead.

Tavros nodded, keeping his eyes closed tight. He rolled over into the pillow, shoving his face into it.

Gamzee walked out into the kitchen, getting in their medicine drawer and pulling out an unopened bottle of Tylenol. He then got into the cabinet, getting a glass for orange juice.

Tavros tried to go back to sleep, his hands gripping the sheets. His stomach was doing flips.

Gamzee came back into the room with two glasses of orange juice and a bottle of Tylenol. "Here Tav." He said softly, handing him a pill and a glass.

Tavros rolled over, gently taking the glass and the pills, taking them with ease.

"Try to rest a little. I'm going to go fix something small for us to eat." He ran his hand through Tavros' chestnut brown hair. "I love you."

"I love you too." he mumbled, draining the rest of the juice as he rested down on the pillow.

Gamzee walked into the kitchen, making toast and some eggs. While he cooked, he thought about how Tavros had been sleeping lately. "Maybe I should talk to him about getting a recuperacoon..."

The boy slept quietly, shifting every now and again, but was doing okay. He sniffled and hugged his plushy close to him.

Gamzee smiled when he got back into the room. He had put the food in the fridge for later. Carefully, he crawled back into bed, wrapping his arms around Tavros before falling asleep.

Tavros quivered and fell asleep against him.

* * *

><p>Sollux stirred. He remembered falling asleep on the couch. He remembered getting up and going upstairs to fall asleep in the recuperacoon... But how did he end back up on the couch? He rubbed his eyes. He was covered in slime. His body ached. The air reeked of electricity. He opened his eyes, whimpering softly. What happened?<p>

Karkat got out of the shower. He was still concerned as to why he woke up without Sollux's thin arms around him. "I hope he's downstairs..." He said as he dried himself off. After going to the bedroom and changing into his clothes for work, Karkat went downstairs and into the kitchen. "What the actual fuck? Why are... What..." He looked at the floor, seeing the remnants of coffee cups and plates. "Sollux!" He yelled. "Sollux, where are you?"

Sollux grumbled from the couch, sitting up. "Huh?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. "Nnnn..."

Karkat ran to the living room. "What the hell? Why is the TV?... What happened?" He asked. "Are you okay?" He went over to the couch, sitting on the edge.

"I don't know..." he said, looking up at him. "I-I... I don't know..."

"First, are you okay? Does anything hurt?" Karkat asked, running his hand through Sollux's hair.

Sollux shook his head. "No..." he said, "I... I'll be okay." he said, smiling.

"Okay. Do you remember anything from last night right before bed?" He asked.

Sollux shook his head. "Wait... Carmine... Whereth Carmine!" he stood, his hands shaking.

"She's upstairs. She's fine." Karkat informed him as he stood. "She's okay. But we need to figure out why the living room has been rearranged and why there is a bunch of broken plates and coffee mugs on the kitchen floor."

Sollux sat down. "The air thmellth." he said, rubbing his eyes. "I feel drained... My thionikth..." he looked around. "I... I did thith in my thleep."

"That would explain things..." Karkat said softly. "Go upstairs and go back to bed. You need to rest. I'll clean up." He kissed the side of Sollux's head gently.

Sollux frowned. "Ok..." He gently wrapped his arms around him. "T-Thorry..." he whispered, his voice quiet. He kissed Karkat gently before walking upstairs. He gently picked up Carmine from the pillow, climbing into the recuperacoon, settling down with Carmine on his chest.

Karkat started cleaning in the kitchen first, sweeping up all the broken glass. He felt strangely relieved that it had just been Sollux's psionics and that they hadn't been robbed. Throwing the shards away, he sighed. Today was going to be a loooooooooong day.

Sollux felt the dream ravage him again. His psionics lashed out. He stayed in the recuperacoon, holding Carmine protectively as he knocked something off the shelf, clanging loudly against the floor.

Karkat ran upstairs hearing something hit the floor. "Sollux..." He whispered when he walked into the room, seeing things just floating in mid-air. "Sollux..." He said a little louder.

Sollux shifted, he sat up, the items hovering for a moment before dropping to the floor with a boom. He poked his head out of the recuperacoon. "H-Huh?"

"Look." He said, pointing to all the books and other random things on the floor. "Are you having nightmares or something?"

Sollux rubbed his eyes. "I... I think tho..."

Karkat walked over to the recuperacoon, leaning over the side and running his fingers through Sollux's hair. "I love you." He smiled softly, leaning down a little further and kissing his forehead gently. "Try to think of happy things when you go back to sleep."

Sollux nodded, gently nuzzling Carmine. "I will." he said, settling back down inside. He curled up on his side, putting Carmine on his head between his horns. He fell asleep quickly.

Karkat finally finished putting everything back in its place. "Fuck... Gam and Tav will be here soon..." He said. "I'll just make them pancakes and grab something at work." 10 minutes later and Karkat had made a good sized stack of honey pancakes and written the pair a note telling them that he loved them and would call on his break.

Sollux sunk down further into the slime, keeping Carmine above it. He was thankful for the mask that was inside. He covered his face and breathed deeply, closing his eyes again before falling back asleep.

Karkat got the message from Gamzee saying that he was there. "You look like shit..."

"Yeah.. I'm aware." Gamzee glared at him.

"Where's Tav?" He asked softly.

"At home. He's got a hangover from hell." Gamzee replied. "I'm never drinking alcohol again."

"That sucks." Karkat sighed.

"Yeah. Since he's still asleep, I left him a note telling him that I was going to drop you off and then come straight home." Gamzee sighed. "Why the fuck did I buy that shit?"

* * *

><p>Tavros rolled over. "Nnn..." His head hurt, but it was better. He shifted a little bit, looking around. "Gamzee?" he looked around. "Gamzee?" Tavros sat up, finding the note next to him. He sighed a breath of relief.<p>

* * *

><p>Carmine shifted, finding herself on Sollux's head. She began to chirp loudly in an attempt to wake him up.<p>

Sollux heard a soft noise. He shifted, looking around. "Nnn..." He opened his eyes, making them burn as he closed them quickly, coming out of the slime, pulling the mask off. "G-Gah fuck" he cursed, rubbing at his eyes.

Carmine chirped with worry. "Daddy?"

"Nnnn... Thorry Hun. I got thopor thlime in my eyeth." he grumbled quietly, rubbing at them. "I've gotta thower."

* * *

><p>Gamzee dropped Karkat off and then drove back to his apartment. He walked inside, dropping his keys on the counter after locking the door before making his way back to the bedroom. "Tav... You're awake?"<p>

Tavros had laid back down. He was having a nightmare. His whole form twitched and shuddered. He whimpered softly, his hands gripping the sheet over him.

"Okay... I'm getting him one. End of story." Gamzee sighed, crawling into bed and shooshing his matesprit.

Tavros whimpered, his eyes fluttering open. "G-Gamzee..."

"Good morning love." He smiled, pulling Tavros closer to him. "You were having another nightmare... Are you okay?"

Tavros nodded. He curled up with him, his hands gently gripping Gamzee's shirt. "I'm okay..."

"I'm sorry about last night." He kissed the top of Tavros' head. "I got that recipe from Karbro this morning. I'll make it for you later but I think you need to rest some more."

Tavros nodded. He shifted a little bit and rested against him. "Gamzee I love you."

"I love you too Tav." He smiled as he fell back into a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>She nodded, levitating herself from his head. Once she set herself down on the pillow, she curled back up.<p>

Sollux climbed out of the coon, walking to the shower, his hands fumbling with the nobs as he washed himself clean of the slime. He rinsed his eyes carefully, his vision coming back. He shuddered a little bit.

Sollux dried off and pulled pajama pants on before gently using his powers to pick up Carmine, taking her downstairs.

Sollux reheated the food and set some nice warm pancakes down next to Carmine. "Eat up honey." he smiled, pouring honey on his.

Carmine looked over at Sollux, blinking her eyes. "Honey." She said.

"No, there ith enough honey." He moved the bottle away from her, frowning. "Eat your pancaketh."

Carmine growled a little and used her psionics to pick up the bottle of honey, pulling it closer to her. "Honey."

Sollux grabbed the bottle and put it back down by him. "Carmine, I thaid no."

"Honey!" She yelled, her psionics sparking around her eyes while she glared at him.

"Don't raithe your voice." he said, glaring at her. "And don't thpark at me. You're not thcaring me."

"Mean Daddy!" She growled as she continued to flare her psionics.

Finally, it was time for Karkat's lunch break. He sighed, pulling out his phone and dialing the house.

"Mean?" He rolled his eyes. "Carmine I'm not being mean, you don't need honey." He felt his own psionics start to spark a bit, his temper flaring. He heard the phone ring and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey! How is everything?" Karkat asked.

"Mean Daddy!" She yelled again.

"Sollux... What's going on? Why is Carmine yelling?" He asked softly, his voice full of concern.

"Aaghhhh..." He grumbled. "Carmine wanth more honey on her pancaketh and I thaid no. Theth throwing a fit."

"Really? That's it. Let me talk to her." Karkat sighed softly.

Sollux sighed and set down the phone, turning it on speaker. He sat back down in his chair, trying to not let his psionics flare even brighter.

"Mommy! Daddy mean!" Carmine said into the phone.

"Carmine. You don't need any more honey. So listen to Daddy." Karkat kept his tone stern but gentle.

Sollux sighed. "I'm not mean." he said, grumbling to himself. "I'm not mean."

"Theethee (CC) want honey." Carmine grumbled.

"Carmine. You don't need it, now stop and listen to your father. He's not mean. He loves you." Karkat said.

"Okay..." Carmine looked defeated.

"Now apologize to him and tell him you love him." Karkat smirked, knowing he had won.

"Thorry Daddy... Love." She said softly.

Sollux smiled. "I love you too thweety." he said, smiling. "Thank you KK."

"You're welcome love. I love you Carmine!" He laughed into the phone.

"Mommy love!" Carmine skreed happily.

'She listens to me, the one without psionics, more than the one who could actually control her... That's funny.'

Sollux sighed and smiled. "Call me later." he said, hanging up the phone after saying goodbye. He finished eating quietly.

Carmine grumbled as she ate her little pancake. She wanted more honey but she knew she couldn't have it and that made her angry.

School let out a couple hours later. Katie got off the bus and ran into her house, informing her mother of her future location before running over to Sollux's. She knocked on the door after taking a couple deep breaths.

Sollux had put carmine down for a nap having exhausted her having fun with Psionics. He pulled a sort of tight fitting shirt on, walking back downstairs and opening the door. "Hey." he smiled.

"Hello! How was your day?" Katie smiled as she walked inside.

"Good, good." he said. "Carmine is napping." He smiled a little. "Come in."

"Wanna watch a movie or something?" She asked, fidgeting a little. Here she was, alone with her crush and moirail... This was slightly awkward...

"Thure." He shrugged his shoulders and walked into the living room. "Oopth..." He used his powers to pick the TV back up, putting it back on the stand.

"Why was your TV on the floor?" She laughed as she sat down on the couch.

"Long thtory thort, I thlept walked latht night and knocked it over." he frowned, flipping the TV on. "Anything you want to watch?"

"Little Mermaid?" Katie asked. "It's been forever since I've seen it."

"Thure." he smiled. He got up and grabbed the movie before putting it in. He smiled, plopping back down on the couch.

Katie smiled. This was kind of like an awkward first date. Wait... She shouldn't think about it like that. It's just two friends hanging out and watching the Little Mermaid.

Sollux sighed. "I really like thith movie. Don't tell KK, but ith my favorite." he blushed a little.

"That's so cute!" Katie smiled. "It's one of my favorite Disney movies too."

Sollux smiled and pulled the blanket down around him. "Mmm~" he hummed, crossing his legs. "I hope Carmine doethn't wake up. Theth alwayth tho grumpy after napth."

"I wonder who she gets that from." Katie smirked. "You seem like you are very cranky in the mornings."

"I'm not a morning perthon. Our rathe ith nocturnal by nature." he said, rubbing his arms.

"Interesting. Maybe I should write a book about trolls... I like to write." Katie said softly.

"You probably could. It would get a little hairy around the relationthip part though." he smiled.

"I would have Karkat help with that part. You did say that he is an expert on troll relationships." Katie giggled. "I don't know if I could write something nonfiction. I usually write poems..."

"He ith." he sighed. "He knowth more than anyone I know." he smiled brightly. "Ith a wonderful thing to have thomeone who ith tho knowledgeable."

"You must really love him. You smile like a retard whenever you talk about him." She laughed. How was she ever going to make herself stop liking Sollux?

Sollux blushed. "I can't help it." he said, frowning slightly. "I'm really thorry... Ith embarrathing."

"It's fine. I think it's cute." Katie smiled. "It's nice to see that a relationship can work out so well."

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he sighed and looked at the TV. He noticed that Katie was fidgeting a little. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Just thinking about stupid stuff." She sighed, leaning back against the couch. "I've been fighting with one of my friends because she has started to revolve her life around her boyfriend. I don't really know what to do..."

"Hmmm... I'm thorry. That really thtinkth." he frowned and turned to face her. "You never talk about your friendth."

"That's because I don't have a lot." She admitted. "Including you, I have 3 friends."

"Oh..." he frowned. "I didn't have very many back in thcool either." he said, frowning. "Jutht a few."

"Oh... I would have thought that you were popular since you're really funny and stuff." Katie frowned as she spoke. She wanted Sollux to know that she had feelings for him but he has a matesprit.

"I wath really unpopular. I really... Dithliked mythelf. Thtill do. I don't look at mythelf... Kindly." he frowned.

"I like you... A lot..." Katie said softly.


	45. Chapter 45

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry that I didn't update yesterday! I forgot it was Monday... To make up for it, you are getting a double update today!**

* * *

><p>Sollux looked over. "Hm?"<p>

"I like you... Like you like Karkat..." She looked away from him, her face red.

Sollux frowned. "Katie..." he felt his shoulders sink a little bit. "I... I'm flattered but..." he bit his lip a little. Gog, how do you react in this situation?!

"I'm sorry... I just..." She didn't know what to say. "I wanted you to know..."

"I... It'th fine." he said, turning and looking away.

"I should probably leave..." Katie said softly as she got up and grabbed her backpack.

Sollux stood up. "Wait no... I..." He gently grabbed her arm. "You don't have to go."

"Sollux..." She looked down at the floor. "I've fucked this whole moirail thing up... Haven't I..."

"No." He frowned, gently letting go of her arm. "You're being honetht with me." he smiled.

"And making both of us feel awkward..."

"Katie ith fine. Really." he frowned and sighed quietly. "I can't do anything about it... But I'm glad that you can at leatht tell me thith."

Carmine woke up from her nap and let out a loud chirp to let Sollux know that she was awake.

"Sounds like Carmine is awake..." Katie said softly.

"Want to come thee her?" he asked, sighing as he walked towards the stairs. "You can. It'th quite alright."

"Sure." Kate smiled softly.

Sollux led her upstairs, finding Carmine on the bed. He walked over and sprawled out, his shirt riding up, exposing the lower half of his scar.

"Where did you get that scar?" Katie asked, pointing to Sollux's stomach. "It looks like it really hurt…"

Sollux frowned, pulling his shirt down. "That'th..." he frowned, sitting up. "I wath attacked by a drone." he said.

"A culling drone?" She asked. "We learned about them a little in class."

"Yeah..." He sighed quietly. He pulled up the shirt the rest of the way, showing the scar.

Katie's face went red. "That's... That looks like it really hurt... I'm glad you're okay..."

Sollux touched it gently. "It thtill thtingth." he said, frowning. "But ith all okay."

"That sucks." She said quietly.

Carmine levitated herself onto Sollux's chest. "Daddy?" She scuttled over to his neck, nuzzling her little face against him.

Sollux gently nuzzled her. "Awww. Did you thleep well?" He smiled, nuzzling Carmine's cheek.

Carmine smiled and nodded.

"She's just so cute!" Katie giggled, watching the pair of trolls. "You two made an adorable little grub."

Sollux smiled. "Aww. That'th thweet of you to thay." He grinned and rubbed Carmine's stomach gently. "The'th gonna thtart pupating thoon." He smiled. "I'm waiting for her to pick a thpot."

"Pupating?" Katie asked. "What's that?"

"Uh… You know how tiny fly beathtth? The pretty oneth? They grow a hard thell around them?" he smiled. "Like that. The will grow armth and legth and be able to talk more." He smiled. "Thee will go to thcool too I think."

"Oh… You mean like a butterfly?" Katie asked softly. "That's cool."  
>Carmine shifted around, on Sollux's chest, getting comfy. "Daddy… Mommy?" She heard the sound of a car door open and then close. "Mommy?"<br>Karkat got out of the bus, he was pissed. He walked into the house and slammed the door shut.  
>"Karkat sounds pissed…" Katie said softly.<p>

Sollux swallowed. "Keep an eye on Carmine. I'm going to go deal with thith." He sighed and walked downstairs. "You're home early."

"I can't fucking stand those stupid fucks." Karkat growled sitting on the couch.

"Who? Gam and Tav?" he frowned.

"No. Gam and Tav aren't the problem. It's the fucking humans that I work with."

"What happened?" he frowned.

"This lady had ordered something and decided she wanted to personally give her compliments to the chef, me. Well, I go out into the dining hall and no one really seems to care that a troll is cooking for them but this fucking lady just starts going on about how disgusting it is and refuses to pay for her meal. So, the manager comes out and the woman says she was displeased and the manager said that he would take care of her tab. So we all go back to the kitchen after that. I was quiet the entire time because I didn't want to open my mouth and get fired. Then one of the waiters started saying the same fucking things that the lady said about me and flat out said that if he would have known that a troll was working in the kitchen that he never would have accepted the job. Then my boss told me to come home because he knew I was about to snap..."

Sollux sighed. "Ignorant bathtardth." he muttered. "I'm thorry that happened."

"I need to hit something. You should probably cover my hands with your psionics... I don't want to punch a hole through the wall." Karkat glared at the wall on the other side of the room as he got up.

"No. You're not going to go around and punch thingth becauthe you feel like it. I'm not doing it."

"Then I guess there's going to be a hole in the wall..." He growled raising his fist.

Sollux glared at him, using his psionics to stop Karkat's hand in action. "No. There won't be."

"FUCK YOU!" Karkat screamed. "LET ME FUCKING PUNCH SOMETHING!"

"NO!" Sollux glared at him. "I'm not letting you dethtroy anything. You need to learn to deal with your fucking anger another way!"

"Like what Sollux? I don't have fucking psionics like you! This is the only thing that works for me!" Karkat growled.

"KK, it doethn't have to be. Gog will you jutht thut up!" he glared at him, his psionics sparking.

"You don't fucking understand how stupid humans are! They act all nice and then as soon as they realize what you are... It just shows that no matter what I fucking do, it's not good enough!" He yelled as he turned to go toward the kitchen.

Katie sat upstairs, holding a shivering Carmine in her lap. "It's okay sweetie..." She couldn't understand what was going on since it was all being said in Alternian.

Sollux growled. "YOU THINK I DONT UNDERTHTAND?! KK ARE YOU FUCKING THTUPID OR THOMETHING?" He followed him, slamming his hands on the table. "LITHEN TO ME! FUCK!"

"All you do is stay here with Carmine! That's all you fucking do Sollux!" Karkat yelled as he punched the kitchen counter. He was glad that they had granite counter tops...

Sollux used his psionics to grab Karkat's hand. "WILL YOU THTOP PUNCHING THIT!?" He glared. "What the fuck do you want me to do? You're at work all day, who the fuck elthe ith going to take care of her?!"

Something seemed to break inside of Karkat because suddenly he was on the floor crying. "I fucking hate myself and so does everyone else... Fucking mutant blood..."

Sollux growled. "Karkat fucking Vantath." He grumbled, "You're a fucking highblood." He spat. "How the FUCK ith that mutant?"

"I may be a highblood now but there's still something that's wrong with me..." He whispered. "I'm sorry that I'm such a fuck up... You deserve better than me..."

Sollux felt his psionics glaring. It would take him a bit to calm down. "No I fucking don't. Pull yourthelf together, we have a fucking grub upthtairth who ith probably freaked the fuck out by your thcreaming meth." He glared, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Fuck..." Karkat whimpered, putting his forehead on his knees as light purple tears streamed down his face.

Katie came downstairs with Carmine who had been asking for Karkat since the yelling stopped.

"Mommy... Mommy..." She squeaked as she was carried over to him.

Gently, Katie sat her down on the ground beside him.

Sollux sighed and walked out of the room, electricity sparking as he left.

Karkat looked up from the ground, feeling Carmine crawl onto him. "I'm so sorry baby girl... I'm not mad at you. I promise. I'm just..."

"Mommy ith Mommy. Love!" She nuzzled against his neck. Karkat smiled softly.

"Let's go give Daddy a big hug, okay?" He asked, picking her up off of his shoulder. She nodded fiercely as they followed Sollux. "By the way Katie... I'm sorry you heard that..."

Sollux leaned against the wall in the other room, trying to let himself calm down. Sollux had quite the temper when he was angry. It took him a long time to calm down unless he had a huge mood swing and went back to being normal again. This time wasn't the case however and he fought hard not to break something or hurt someone.

Karkat could tell that Sollux wasn't calming down. "Carmine. Stay over here on the couch okay." He told her as he sat her down before walking over to Sollux. "Hey... I'm sorry that I went off on you... Can I have a hug?"

Sollux looked at him, his eyes dark. He was slowly calming down. Most Psionics had a temper like no other. He reached out, sighing quietly as he buried his face against Karkat. "I'm thorry I thcreamed."

"It's okay, love. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you... Plus, I scared Carmine. Maybe I should start boxing again." Karkat sighed, pulling Sollux close. "I love you."

Sollux sighed and leaned into him. "Itth okay..." he whispered. "I love you too." he sniffled and relaxed in his love's grip.

Karkat ran his fingers through Sollux's hair, kissing his cheek gently.

Carmine took that as a sign to levitate herself over to them. She landed on Sollux's shoulder. "Daddy!" She chirped happily.

Sollux gently nuzzled her. "Aww..." he smiled a little, letting out a sigh, the sparks by his eyes fading. "Mmmm." He turned to Katie. "Thank you for keeping her thafe."

Carmine shook her head and chirped. "Daddy! Mommy! Love!" She smiled.

"You are so cute my little Carmine." Karkat giggled, patting her head.

Sollux smiled sweetly and pulled away, gently holding Carmine. "Hmm..." He looked at Katie. "Did you want to thtay for dinner?" he asked. "If thath okay with KK."

"Actually my mom sent me a message saying that we're going to a Chinese food place tonight so I can't but maybe another time!" Katie smiled. "Well... I'm glad things got worked out and everything is happy again."

"Ok well... Just let us know what you like to eat when you decide to stay for dinner. I can cook anything!" Karkat smiled.

Sollux nodded. "Maybe tomorrow or thomething." he smiled and shifted a bit before he held Carmine in his arms, rocking her gently.

From far, far away, a message was sent. It was directed mentally to young man named Karkat Vantas.

Karkat smiled as he walked into the kitchen, trying to decide what to make for dinner. He paused hearing something in his head. 'Psionic?' He asked quietly.

"Yes." The voice replied. "It is me."

'Well this is random. How are you?' Karkat asked.

"I am growing weaker as the days pass. I feel as if my life is coming to an end." he replied.

'Maybe that's why Sollux has been having nightmares lately... I woke up this morning to a rearranged living room and a kitchen full of broken plates.' He sighed as he thought all of this. 'I wonder if Sollux can hear me while I talk to you...'

"I have made this a special link between us... Nn... For the time being." he said, his voice sounding pained.

'If it's hurting you...' Karkat started. 'Is there something you needed to tell me?'

"I wanted to check up on you. While I was able to have clear process of thought."

'Oh. We're fine. We actually have a grub now...' Karkat smiled as he thought all of this. 'Her name is Carmine and she is absolutely adorable!'

"Carmine...That was the name of the Signless."

'Really? I had no idea... You see, she's from a doomed timeline and we only know what her name is and that she is ours because of the note. It was in my hand writing.' Karkat busied his hands with coating chicken with flour and herbs as some oil heated on the stove. 'The other us sent her to here so she could be safe. She's a psionic like you and Sollux but she has two sets of my horns.'

Karkat paused for a second, looking down at his hands. 'My blood turned purple... I don't know if you noticed but it's not red anymore...'

"I can tell by your brain wave patters as odd as that sounds."

'Really? That's kinda cool." He smiled, dipping some chicken into the oil.

"Yeah." he replied. "My body is falling apart. Age has gotten to me. Her royal Condesce knows... And is trying to keep me alive. My limbs are rotting."

'Oh no... I'm so sorry...' Karkat frowned but kept an eye on the chicken. 'Do you want me to tell Sollux anything? He thinks of you as his father...'

"I would prefer not to... I don't want him to worry... He can't see me... And I'm dying."

'Is the Condesce going to come after him? I mean... He is your descendant and really strong...' Karkat thought.

"She won't." he said. "She won't because she already has another in mind. She won't return to a planet that is dead to her."

'That's a relief... I don't think I could handle losing him even if Carmine wasn't here...'

"He can tell however that I am indeed close to death. I know he has been dreaming about me. I fear the worst is yet to come."

'What do you mean?' Karkat asked, concern flooding his mind as he pulled out the chicken that

had finished cooking.

"My arms and legs are completely gone. Sollux can feel my pain in his dreams. He knows. We are connected. He can feel what is happening to me... And if he is sleepwalking now... Just wait. It will get worse."

'How much worse?' Karkat asked. 'He's already rearranged things and picking them up...'

"I don't know." He said. "Whatever it is... Take care of him. I wish I could do something about it, but I lack the strength."

'I will do my best. He's playing with Carmine while I make dinner... Speaking of that.' Karkat paused in what he was doing. "Sollux, Carmine, dinner is done!"

Sollux gently picked up Carmine and carried her into the kitchen. "Mm~ gotta eat loth!" he smiled and sitting down at the table.

"Please take care of him. I will try and contact you again soon..."

'Will do. Thank you for the warning.' Karkat smiled bringing the plates over to the table. "Here ya go. Can you cut up the chicken for Carmine?"

Sollux gently cut up the pieces into small bits for Carmine to be able to chew. He smiled, watching her eat cautiously.

Karkat also watched as Carmine ate, more wondering if she liked chicken. "Is it good Bumblebee?"

* * *

><p>Gamzee stood in the parking lot of his apartment complex. "You bought me and Tav a house... Why?" He asked the Subjugglator in front of him.<p>

"We thought it would be better than living in this little thing." The purple giant answered.

Gamzee nodded. "I'll talk to Tav and see what he wants to do about it."

"But sir he is a lowblood..."

"And my matesprit." Gamzee said. "I will talk to him about it and get back to you."

Tavros yawned, curling up in bed. He felt exhausted. It had been a long day. He laid down, looking up in his bed, at the ceiling. It was comfortable. Soft music played in the background as he mumbled off terms to himself about the music for his class.

Gamzee walked back inside. "Hey Tav. One of my 'lators just told me some pretty interesting shit..."

Tavros looked up, "Hmm?" he asked, pausing the music. "What's that?"

"My motherfucking 'lators bought us a house that is wheelchair friendly... They want us to move there soon..." Gamzee said, sitting down on the bed. "I wanted your opinion before I agreed to anything."

Tavros blinked. "R-Really?!" He was admittedly a little upset with the state of the cleanliness of the apartment. He couldn't wheel through the house very well and he required Gamzee to take him everywhere. He felt bad. "T-That's amazing" he grinned.

"Really? Do you want to do that then?" Gamzee asked. "They even offered to move everything themselves."

Tavros nodded. "I would love to." he said, smiling.

"He's still outside so I'll go tell him. I'll be right back." He leaned down, kissing Tavros gently before heading back outside. "Tav agreed. We'll move in."

"Excellent but do you need to... Bring..." He started.

"If you want to live, you won't continue that question. He is my matesprit and the fact that he has brown blood means nothing to me." Gamzee growled.

"Understood."

Gamzee walked back inside, a grin on his face. "Tav, he gave me some pictures of the house and the castle that's on the island... They are fucking huge!"

* * *

><p>Carmine chirped happily as she ate.<p>

Sollux ate quietly, smiling. "Ith wonderful." he said, smiling, taking another bite.

"I'm glad that my bees are happy." Karkat smiled as he ate. "Tonight is a night for serious cuddling. I really need it." He looked over at Sollux.

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he said, frowning. "I think I need it too." he frowned and leaned back in his chair a little bit.

Karkat smiled as he got up, grabbing the empty plates and setting them in the sink so he could do them later that evening. He picked up Carmine and whispered to her.

"Daddy follow?" She asked as her and Karkat made their way to the living room.

Sollux nodded. He followed along, rubbing his eyes. "I'm really tired." he said, letting out a sigh. "I think I'm going to go upthtairth and head to bed early." he frowned. "Ith that okay?"

"If you kiss me first." Karkat smiled up at him. "I'll keep Bumblebee down here with me."

Sollux nodded, walking over, giving him a gentle kiss on the mouth. "Mmmmm." He pulled back. "I'll be up in the recuperacoon." He frowned. "Okay?" He walked upstairs. "Goodnight." he smiled and blew a kiss. He walked upstairs and stripped down, tossing his clothing aside as he climbed inside. He pulled the air mask to his face, breathing in the air as he sank down into the slime, it completely covering his body. He fell asleep quickly, his mind racing.

Karkat sat on the couch, having Carmine practice lifting small things with her psionics. They stayed like that for about half an hour before there was a knock on the door.

Katie stood there, smiling. "Hey. Can I come in?" She asked, smiling.

"Yeah! Come in!" Karkat smiled, opening the door wider. "How was dinner with your family?"

"Good!" She smiled. "Where's Sollux?" she asked, frowning.

"He wasn't feeling very well so he went to bed early." He said, walking back into the living room. "I'm doing psionics practice with Carmine."

"Ahhh can I watch?" she smiled. She walked and sat down on the couch. "I'm sorry Sollux wasn't feeling well. Do you think he will be okay?"

"Well.. I talked to his ancestor earlier... He's dying and Sollux can feel it. That's why everything was the way it was this morning..." Karkat sighed. "I'm worried about him. Carmine, try floating the remote from here to the TV 10 times."

Carmine nodded and concentrated on the remote. This was tiring but she knew it had to be done if she wanted to be strong like Sollux.

"Oh... Oh wow..." She frowned. "That's... Really sad." She frowned and watched Carmine. "You can do it" she cheered her on, watching her lift the TV remote.

"You're doing so well Bumblebee!" Karkat smiled. "It is sad but at least I know why it's all happening." He sighed. "I'm really worried that he'll end up hurting himself..."

"We can only hope he doesn't. I was uh..." She turned red. "I uh..."

"What's up?"

"I wanted to ask if maybe... I could uh... You see, Prom is coming up and I really... Don't have anyone to go with..." she frowned and looked down at her hands.


	46. Chapter 46

"He'll go with you." Karkat smiled.

"R-Really?!" She gasped out, covering her mouth. "I… I mean... Is that okay with you?" She frowned. "I don't want to I mean... Make it seem like I'm uh..."

"I know you like him. I'm not stupid plus he's gorgeous." Karkat laughed. "He'll go with you." He nodded. "I'm okay with it."

Katie smiled and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

Karkat laughed, hugging her back. "My only condition is you have to make him wear yellow."

"Oh..." She leaned back a little bit. "Will he get mad though?"

Sollux felt his powers spark, lashing out outside the recuperacoon. He pulled the mask off in his sleep, crawling out of the coon, sinking down to the floor. His eyes opened, a blank stare. His psionics flashed. He was covered head to toe in green slime, it slowly dripping off of him. He muttered things in his sleep, things crashing around the room, things breaking. He got up and walked out the door, his body glowing with psionics as he gripped his arms, his nails digging into the flesh as he scratched at himself, mumbling things quietly to himself.

"No. It's just a personal request from me." Karkat smiled. "Wait... Katie, take Carmine into the bathroom over there and lock the door." He said, hearing things break upstairs.

Katie frowned. She grabbed Carmine. "W-What's going on?" she asked, hurrying towards the bathroom. She walked in, but didn't lock the door. She opened it slightly and peeked out.

Sollux stood in the doorway. He walked down the stairs, blood dripping down his arms. It dripped onto his torso as he winced in pain, his eyes showing it. He dug his nails further into the skin, stumbling as he made it all the way down.

"Sollux... Baby?" Karkat asked as he walked toward the stair case. He stops when he see the blood. "Sollux..."

He muttered something unintelligible. He lashed his powers out, digging at his arms again as he walked towards the kitchen.

Katie could smell something and it smelled a lot like blood. Carmine shook against her.

"Sollux. You're hurting yourself." Karkat said a little louder. "You're scaring me..." 'Psionic... If you can hear me... Tell me what to do. He's clawing his arms to shreds...'

Psionic heard Karkat, but couldn't respond. He hoped... He prayed that the dream would end.

Sollux stumbled into the kitchen, falling to the floor, the psionics, pushing the table back out of the way. He curled his knees to his chest. "They're gone." He muttered the only intelligible thing. He dug his nails into his arms further.

"What's gone? Baby talk to me..." Karkat went and kneeled beside him.

Katie watched out of the bathroom door. She had to admit that even though his body was covered in scars and yellow blood, he was beautiful. "Please stop..." She whispered.

"His armth... I can't feel them." he muttered back, his eyes glaring at Karkat. Empty. They looked as empty as the Psionic's did when they had met him. "Dead."

Karkat stared at him. "Dead... His arms or..." He couldn't finish the sentence. He leaned down, wrapping his arms around Sollux. "You're not him, love. You're my Honey Bee, my Sollux. And Carmine's father."

Katie couldn't help but watch as Karkat comforted Sollux.

He felt a shudder run through him. He turned to Karkat, his eyes going wide as he let out a scream. He gripped his arms tightly, closing his eyes. "He'th dead He'th DEAD" he screamed, gripping his arms tighter.

Karkat wrapped his arms around him tighter. "It's okay. It's okay." He said over and over again, trying to calm down his hysterical matesprit. "It's okay. I'm here."

Carmine chirped quietly, looking upset.

Sollux sobbed, wrapping his arms around Karkat tightly. "He'th dead... He'th gone..." he didn't care that he was getting blood and tears all over Karkat's shirt, sobbing hysterically. He didn't care that in this moment he was naked for all to see. He didn't care he was bleeding. He didn't care that he was covered in sopor slime. He wanted to be held. To be comforted. "Where ith Carmine..."

"In the bathroom with Katie..." Karkat said softly. "Do you want her out here?"

"I don't care." He sniffed, rubbing at his face. He cringed. "Fuck..." he looked down at his arms and at his still naked body. "I don't care anymore. Katie ith my moirail I don't care what the theeth. I want to hold Carmine."

Karkat looked up toward the bathroom door, nodding at Katie who had started to stick her head out. Slowly, she emerged with Carmine in her arms.

"Daddy..." Carmine whispered. She was scared because Daddy was covered in so much of his pretty yellow and it didn't make sense.

"I'm so sorry Sollux..." Katie whispered, sitting down beside him and putting Carmine in his lap.

"I'm sorry love. I know how much he meant to you..." Karkat whispered, running his fingers through his hair.

Sollux gently held Carmine to him. "Thhhh..." he whispered, trying to conceal his own tears. "Ith okay." He sniffled and let out a choked sob. "I'm thorry... I'm tho thorry..." He looked at Karkat. "My armth hurt..." he whispered, cringing a little as he moved them.

"Because you were clawing at them." Karkat told him. "Katie... Can you go back into the bathroom and get the first aid kit?"

She nodded, getting up and going to get it.

"You need to shower before we clean your wounds." Karkat said softly.

"Daddy... Love?" Carmine chirped, trying to make him feel a little better.

Sollux nodded. He kissed Carmine gently, standing up. There he stood. Completely naked. He didn't care in this moment. He frowned and slowly tried to walk to the stairs. Grief overtook him.

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux. "Slowly, love. Slowly." He cooed.

Katie came back out with the small first aid kit in hand.

"I'm going to help him shower, I need you to take care of Carmine until we get out." Karkat looked back at her. "Unless he wants her to stay with us..."

"Let Carmine thtay down here. The hath theen enough blood." he said, frowning as he slowly made his way towards the staircase.

Karkat nodded. When they got to the stair case he took Carmine from Sollux and handed her to Katie. "Don't let her come upstairs."

Katie nodded, holding onto Carmine. She watched Karkat lead Sollux slowly up the stairs.

Sollux walked pretty decently to the bathroom. "I'm thorry... I'm thorry..." He mumbled, his mind numb. He didn't feel like he could say anything else.

"It's okay baby. I'm here." Karkat cooed, as he stripped himself of his clothes when they got into the bathroom. He turned the water on so it was warm enough to relax Sollux's muscles but not enough to scald the open wounds.

Sollux winced slightly as they both climbed into the shower. He let the water run over the wounds, washing away the yellow blood, leaving just the gross contrast between his skin color and his blood, where it was raw beneath. The cuts were deep, but it wasn't anything some medicine and a nice wrap wouldn't be able to handle. He reached for the shampoo using his powers, using them to squeeze some into his hair. He gently washed it, hissing in pain as the soap touched the wounds.

"Let me." Karkat said softly, rubbing Sollux's scalp. "Rinse." He said softly using his hands to block as much of the soapy water as he could.

He leaned back into the spray. "Nnn..." he whispered, humming as Karkat massaged his head. "KK... I'm... I'm tho thorry..."

"It's fine. You were really attached to him... You know, and I'm not trying to upset you but I think you should know that I talked to him before dinner... I told him about Carmine and he told me that her name is the same as the Signless'..." Karkat smiled up at him, rubbing by Sollux's horns. "I think he was happy to meet you."

Sollux felt the gesture and relaxed a little. "He had a hard life... He wanted to die." he sniffed. "I... I jutht... With that... It hadn't been that way."

"Me too but there was really nothing we could have done, love, but be thankful that we got to meet such an amazing person." He smiled softly. "You still have sopor slime on your arms... Come over here so I can get it out of the wounds." Karkat grabbed his hand, pulling him further into the stream of water.

Sollux stepped closer to him, whimpering. "Nnn..." He hissed at the pain, biting his lip as he did so. He rested his arms against him, rubbing his eyes. "I'm glad I got to meet him." he said, sniffling. "I'm jutht... Thad that heth gone."

"Me too." Karkat gently moved his hands over the claw marks, washing the sopor slime out of them. "I love you Sollux."

Sollux sniffed and nodded. "I love you too." he said, blushing yellow. "Katie thaw me naked didn't thee..."

"I don't think it really matters right now." Karkat laughed a little. "Why are you worrying about your scars? I love them."

"The really liketh me." he said, sighing. "Ithn't it like thome thort of... I don't know human thing to get to thee thomeone you like naked?"

"Strip show?" Karkat asked. "I know she likes you but she also knows that you were kinda freaking out." He looked up at Sollux. "It's not like she saw your bulges or anything like that."

"True." he frowned and leaned against him. He handed him the other arm. "Nnn... I can barely feel my armth anymore. Ith really numb."

Karkat was still gentle with cleaning Sollux's arms. "Well... You did kind of claw them to hell..."

"I'm thorry..." he whimpered. "I'm thorry..."

Karkat cupped Sollux's face with his hands. "I love you and you really have no reason to be sorry." He leaned up and kissed Sollux gently. "I just want your arms to heal quickly because... I kinda told Katie that you would go to prom with her..."

"Prom? KK are you fucking kidding me?" he gave him a look of utter despair. "Don't make me go... Pleathe..."

"I told her you would. Just once. Plus, I didn't make you go with me but she has no one to go with. Help your moirail out a little..." He said softly.

Sollux sighed. "I can't dancthe." he muttered, looking down.

"I don't think she'll care. It would mean a lot to just have someone there..." Karkat smiled softly. "I only want her to smile a little..."

"Alright..." He sighed. "I'll go... For you." he pouted a little bit.

"I love you too." Karkat kissed him again.

Sollux turned off the water and went to go pull some pants on once he had dried off carefully. He sniffled and made his way back downstairs.

Karkat stayed with him. He smiled at Katie when they got back downstairs. "Thanks for taking Carmine. That helped a lot."

"Not a problem. I'm glad I could help." She smiled softly. "How are you feeling Sollux?"

"Like total thit." he mumbled quietly, grabbing the first aid kit to clean up his wounds.

"Do you want some help?" Katie asked. "I'm pretty good at patching up cuts."

"Yeah..." He stuck out his arm, frowning. "Go for it." he said softly.

Katie took the kit in hand, getting out bandages and ointments. "This will hurt and I'm sorry." She said as she drenched a cotton ball with peroxide.

Sollux watched her. "I'll be fine." he whispered, sighing quietly as he watched her movements.

She cleaned the wounds as quickly and gently as she could. "There. All done." She smiled up at him.

Karkat sat there trying not to panic. This girl obviously had red feelings for Sollux and he knew that Sollux didn't return those feelings but he knew what a moirailallegiance could turn into.

Sollux hissed in pain a little bit, holding his arm. Both were now bandaged up and cleaned. He sighed and leaned back against the floor. He lacked a shirt and with every rise and fall of his chest you could see every rib. The poor boy looked starved, but he ate more than anyone he knew.

Carmine looked over at him from Karkat's lap. "Daddy?" She moved a little closer to him.

"I think she wants you to hold her. She's worried about you..." Karkat said softly, holding out to him.

Sollux reached out. "Mmm... Come here baby." he held her close. "Whath wrong?"

She showed him images from earlier, of him covered in his own blood. "Daddy..."

"I'm okay now honey, thee?" he showed his bandages. "I'm fine." he sniffled a little, holding her close. "I'll be okay."

She nodded, nuzzling his cheek.

Karkat smiled at the sight. "I have the cutest daughter and matesprit in the world!" He smiled, watching the two of them.

"I should probably get back home... I have school tomorrow." Katie said, standing.

"Thank you Katie. Thank you so much." Karkat smiled at her.

"No problem guys." She waved before leaving.

Sollux made a mental note that sometime tomorrow he would call and apologize. He stood gently, sighing. "I'm thorry." he whispered, looking at him. "I love you."

"Why are you sorry?" Karkat asked, standing as well. "You just went through a trauma." He frowned, hugging Sollux gently.

"I don't know." He said, gently touching his face. "I'm thorry for making... I don't know. A meth or thomething."

"I can clean the mess. I'm not worried about it." Karkat smiled softly. "I love you too, Honey Bee."

"Leth get thome retht. I'm not going to thleep in the pod tonight. I want to thleep next to Carmine. I thcared her and ith the leatht I can do."

"You two go on up and go to bed. I'll start cleaning." He leaned up, kissing Sollux gently. "Go rest, love."

Sollux smiled and kissed him back. He carried Carmine upstairs. He gently laid her on the bed, sprawling out on his stomach. He pulled his pants off, pulling the sheet over him.

Carmine curled up by Sollux's head, purring softly as she slept.

Karkat spent the next two hours cleaning blood off of all the floors in the house. He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Why am I so scared?"

Sollux slept quietly. He stirred momentarily to get up to use the restroom. "Nnn, KK are you thtill awake?" he rubbed his eyes sleepily, still seeing the light on downstairs.

"Yeah but I was just about to come to bed." He said, as he walked up the stairs. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." He said, his voice soft and a little raspy. "I jutht had to go to the bathroom thath all." he said, holding out his arms for a hug. "Mmm... I want to be held... Really bad."

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux. "That's what I'm here for." He laughed softly, kissing the side of Sollux's head. "I love you."

"I love you too." he smiled into Karkat's neck. "Mmmm... I'm really thleepy." he mumbled, kissing Karkat's shoulder as he moved away, back towards the bedroom.

"What happened to you needing to go to the bathroom?" Karkat asked, following him into the bedroom.

"Oh..." He mumbled before turning around and going into the bathroom. A few minutes later he returned. "I forgot." he cracked a small smile, his eyes half closed. "Mmmm... Bed..."

Karkat was lying on the bed when Sollux got back. "Come cuddle with us." He smiled, holding his arms out. "You cannot resist the cuddle powers of KK and Carmine!" He giggled a little.

Sollux shuffled over to the bed, crawling over the surface. He curled up against Karkat, trying not to poke him with his horns. "Nnn..." He felt his body relax gently.

Karkat pulled the blanket over them. "Good night Honey Bee." He kissed his forehead.

Sollux woke the next morning, his arms painfully sore. It was still warm where he was laying. He didn't feel like opening his eyes. He didn't know what time it was either. He didn't care.

Soon, Karkat's alarm clock started to scream at him. He shifted, turning it off. Grumbling, he sat up, not seeming to realize that Sollux was awake as he started to carefully crawl over him.

Sollux mumbled something, reaching his arms out, gently grabbing hold of Karkat. "Nnnnnnn..." He whined.

Karkat gasped as he was brought back down onto the bed. "Sollux... Why are you awake?" He asked quietly, not wanting to wake Carmine too.

"Don't go..." he whispered, trying not to cry. "Pleathe..." He snuggled into whatever part he had grabbed onto, holding it tightly in his grasp.

"Can I go get my phone so I can call in?" Karkat asked, rubbing Sollux's back.

Sollux nodded, sniffling. "Y-Yeah." He curled up into a ball when he felt Karkat get off the bed.

Karkat went and grabbed his phone from the kitchen table, calling the restaurant.

The phone rang loud. Luna reached over to grab the phone. "Hello?" she asked, working on getting things ready.

"Hey. It's Karkat... I can't come in today..." He said into the phone, hoping that she would understand.

"What's up? You sound really tired... Is everything okay?" She said, frowning.

"Well... Sollux's father passed away last night. We can't get to the funeral and he's really upset. I can't leave him alone here with Carmine..." He answered.

"Oh no... I'm really sorry to hear that." Luna frowned, setting down what she was working on. "I understand how hard it is to go through that..." She sighed. "I'll call in George for lead chef today. That's fine. If you need anything at all just let me know. I do want to swing by later tonight and give you all a little something for my condolences." She smiled weakly. "Would that be okay?"

"Yeah." Karkat said softly. "I need to get back upstairs. Thanks Luna." He said before hanging up the phone and going back upstairs. "Guess who has today off."

Sollux looked up. "Nnnn..." He reached out for him. "Mmm... Come here." he whispered,

He smiled as he crawled back into bed and settled down in Sollux's arms. "How are your arms feeling?"

"They hurt." he mumbled, nuzzling against him. "Nnnn..." He sniffed and buried his face in Karkat's shoulder.

"I'm sorry love. We can change the bandages later, but for right now, you need to rest." He said softly.

Sollux nodded. "Odd requetht..." he said softly. "Will you hold me while I thleep?" he looked up at him. His eyes were tired, half closed.

"How is that an odd request? I'm pretty sure I do that every night..." Karkat chuckled. "Of course I will."

Sollux settled down as much as he could. He closed his eyes, stretching out in his sleep, laying with his body flush against Karkat's

Karkat hummed the lullaby of their ancestors as his fingers ran lazily through the yellow blood's hair.

Sollux relaxed, sniffling softly as he fell asleep, dreaming of seemingly happy things.

After about an hour of holding Sollux and playing with his hair, Karkat fell back asleep.

Sollux awoke again, his eyes slowly blinking as he saw light filtering in through the windows. "Nnnn..." He hummed, rubbing his eyes gently.

Carmine started to shift, chirping between purrs. "Mommy?" She asked confused, looking over at Sollux and then at the still sleeping Karkat.

"Mommy ith here." he said, rubbing his eyes. "Mommy ith athleep."

"Why?" She asked. "Daddy?"

Karkat shifted slightly since Sollux moved, his body trying to get back to the warmth.

"Mmmm." He nodded his head a little, gently pulling Karkat close to him. "Daddy ith thad." he frowned. "But I'll be okay."

"No thad..." Carmine whimpered, crawling over to them. "Happy!"

Sollux shooshed her gently. "I know..." he frowned. "Thomething really upthetting happened to Daddy." he said. "But it will all be okay."

Karkat shifted again, hearing Carmine talking. "Hi Bumblebee." He smiled sleepily. "Honey Bee."

Sollux kissed him gently. "Go back to thleep." he said, touching his face. "You need it more than me."

"No. I need to make breakfast or else you two will starve." He laughed a little as he got out of bed. "I'll yell for you when it's done."

Sollux smiled. "Alright." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Nnnn..." He reached up for Carmine. "Mmm come here."

Carmine hurriedly crawled over to him, eager to try to make him feel better. "Daddy!" She skreed happily, settling in his arms.

Sollux smiled. "Hey honey." he said, kissing the top of her head.

A few minutes later, the delicious sent of pancakes, eggs and bacon drift upstairs. Karkat didn't actually feel the need to call for the pair of psionics so he didn't and let the smell of the food bring them to him.

Sollux grumbled. "Nnnn that meanth we have to get up now." He said, rubbing his eyes.

Carmine smiles, making a sound to mimic good food.

Karkat puts the plates together and sets them on the table for Sollux and Carmine.

Sollux felt really lazy. He sat up, pulling his pants back on before he used his powers to carry him down the stairs. He moved into the kitchen, plopping himself in a seat.

"You forgot Bumblebee." Karkat laughed seeing how tired his matesprit was. He rubbed Sollux's shoulder as Carmine carried herself down the stairs with her powers. "Very good baby girl!" He smiled.

"Thee it wath a tetht..." he yawned and leaned into his touches. "Nnnn..."

"You are a horrible liar Sol." He smiled, kissing the top of his head. "Now eat up you two."

Sollux nodded, eating quietly. "Mmmm..." He finished the plate in no time, setting down his cup. "KK... Coffee..." He mumbled, yawning.

Karkat nodded, temporarily abandoning his own plate to get Sollux more coffee. "Is there anything else you want while I'm up?"

Sollux shook his head. "No." he whispered, yawning big. "I'm good." he smiled and took his coffee, putting sugar and honey in it along with cream. "Mmmm..." He took a sip and started to feel at least a little bit better.

Karkat looked over seeing Carmine eating from his plate. "Hey now. Carmine, that's my food." "Theethee (CC) hungy!" She said softly before returning to eat.

"Maybe she's getting close to pupating?"

"Theth getting a little big for her thell... I think tho." he frowned.

"That's going to be interesting... I wonder if she's picked a spot..." Karkat tapped his chin.

"I don't know." He looked over at Carmine. "Hey Theethee?" he smiled. "Did you pick a thpot?" he leaned on his elbows, looking at her.

Carmine nodded. "Thpot!" She smiled.

"Will you show us?" Karkat asked. Carmine levitated herself off the table and started upstairs toward the bedroom. Karkat followed behind her, wondering where she was going.

Sollux got up and followed along too. He smiled watching her levitate to a rather high spot.

"Above our recuperacoon?" Karkat asked as she floated in that spot for a couple minutes. "Sollux, thoughts?"

"I think ith fine." he smiled. "I don't remember much about pupating." he said, scratching the back of his head. "I don't remember much about my childhood actually..."

"Besides hanging out with me." Karkat laughed a little. "I think it'll be nice to stick our heads out of the coon and check on her."

"Yeah." he smiled. "You picked a wonderful plathe, thweety." he smiled, looking up at her.

She giggled as she came down and landed on Sollux's shoulder. "Yay!"

"Are you excited?" Karkat asked, putting his hand gently on her shell, feeling it give a little. Carmine nodded.

Sollux smiled. "I have a feeling that thee will begin tonight." he looked over at her.

Carmine giggled a little, nuzzling against Sollux.

"Me too..." Karkat sighed. "How about we all cuddle some more since we will be short one troll really soon?"

Sollux nodded. "I like that idea." He said, smiling sweetly. "I'm very much up for that."

Karkat yawned, still feeling tired as they walked back to the bedroom. "I'm so sleepy..." He yawned, plopping down on the bed.

Sollux smiled, crawling back onto the bed, curling up with him. "Nnnn…."

The pair slept for what seemed like a long time. Sollux woke to the sound of the phone ringing by his head. He ignored it, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. Everything was kind of foggy. He looked around and grabbed his glasses, pushing them up on his nose. He spotted something above their recuperacoon and gasped. Carmine was hanging from the ceiling by a string of what looked to be something almost like silk. She slowly was wrapping herself up.

He knew it should be happening but it frightened him still. He gently touched Karkat's arm. "Hey… Hey…." He grabbed his phone, quickly calling Kanaya.

Karkat shifted, opening his eyes a little. "What?" He hadn't noticed that Carmine wasn't laying on Sollux.  
>Kanaya heard her phone ring. "Hello Sollux. How are you?" She asked.<p>

"Hi Kanaya, uh… Uh…." He fought to find the right words. "Tho uh we uh have a grub and uh thee ith…. Pupating… What do we do?" He ran his fingers through his hair, whimpering.

"Okay… You have a grub and she's pupating? Well, first you need to calm down. When was the last time she ate?" Kanaya asked.

"A little while ago." He said, rubbing Karkat's arm, his own aching. "Thee ate almost more than both of uth."

"Okay then. That's good. That means she'll have the energy that she'll need to pupate but I'll warn you know now, she will be extremely hungry when she emerges." Kanaya said softly. "Seriously Sollux, calm down. I can hear your breathing through the phone. She's fine."  
>Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux. "She's fine love. I actually think she chose that spot so we could see that she was okay."<p>

Sollux frowned. "A-Alright…." He muttered, frowning a bit as he watched her completely immerse herself into the cocoon, it gently swinging back and forth as it hardened.

"How long will thee be in there?" he asked into the phone.

"Usually it's about two weeks. Maybe a couple days more or less depending on how fast she develops. By the way, how long have you had a grub and why wasn't I there when Karkat gave birth!?" Kanaya asked, feeling a bit miffed.

"No one gave birth." He said, frowning. "The came from an alternate timeline… From like thome time lord or thomething." He frowned. "Ith not like we did thomething like that anyway…" He blushed and looked down. "Well I mean we have but… Aaaghh never mind. Thankth for your help." He hung up the phone, sinking his face into the mattress. "That wath embarrathing."

At this point, Karkat was desperately trying to breath from laughing so hard. He was curled into a ball, shaking from laughter. "That was so fucking funny…." He said between laughs.

Sollux glared at him, groaning into the mattress.

The doorbell rang downstairs.

Katie stood at the door, with her mom. "Hey Sollux." She smiled at him. "We're going shopping for my dress and we thought it would be nice if you came along."  
>Karkat walked up behind him. "That sounds like it will be fun. Now get your ass dressed." He said pushing him gently toward the stairs.<br>"How are things between the two of you? Katie said you got into a fight yesterday…" Katie's mom asked.  
>"Things are fine. It was just a small tiff but everything is perfect now." Karkat smiled.<p>

Sollux mumbled something as he hurried up the stairs, changing into his favorite black tank top, pulling the yellow and black striped shirt on over him. He pulled on a comfy pair of pants and his mix matched black and white shoes. He combed his hair, washing his face. He didn't care that his arms, which were still bandaged up, showed.

That reminded him.

"KK…" he said as he came back downstairs. "I need you to change my bandages." He frowned.

"I was on my way up to do that…" Karkat smiled, holding the first aid kit. "We're going to need to get more bandages soon. Can you pick some up tonight?" He asked, walking toward him.  
>"Sollux… What happened to your arms?" Katie's mom asked.<br>"He had a bit of a panic attack yesterday after everything had calmed down and his arms were the victims." Katie said, knowing she couldn't tell her mom what had actually happened.  
>"Oh… Well, I hope you'll be okay." She said softly.<br>"He will. I know a bit about first aid." Karkat smiled at her.

Sollux sat down and held out his arms. "I'll be fine. I got a little anxiouth and a bit upthet." He frowned. "My clawth can be kinda dangerouth." He laughed a little bit. "I'll pick up bandageth when I come home." He smiled a little bit, watching Karkat clean the gray and yellow wounds with a gentle hand.

Karkat finished quickly. "Okay. Have fun Honey Bee." He said in Alternian smiling. "I love you."

Katie smiled, knowing that Karkat had just told Sollux that he loved him. "Awww! You two are so cute!" She giggled.

Sollux smiled and papped his arm as he walked out the door. "Love you too." He said back in Alternian as he walked out of the house, shutting the door behind him.

"Thorry I took tho long to get ready." He said, frowning a bit.

"You didn't take nearly as long as Katie did this morning. Plus most of the time was used to clean your arms." Katie's mom smiled as she got into the minivan.  
>Karkat sighed softly, going back upstairs, wrapping the blanket around him, wanting to be surrounded by Sollux's smell. This moirailallegiance that Sollux had with Katie was slightly bothering him. It wasn't the fact that they were moirails but it was more that Katie had red feelings for Sollux. "Fuck…." He murmured.<p>

Sollux sighed. "Yeah. Ith okay." He climbed into the minivan, stretching out his legs as he looked out the window. "Ith been thuch a long time thinthe I have been driven around." He laughed a little bit. "My friend uthed to before any of uth could drive. I really think KK will never learn to drive."

They drove to the mall. Once they arrived they went into a rather nice looking store for a dress. Sollux tagged along, shuffling his feet a bit as he followed. He was getting some strange looks. He sighed quietly, pursing his lips as they walked up to the dresses, being greeted by one of the employees.

"Hello, how can I help you today?"

"I'm looking for a prom dress…" Katie said softly.  
>"Is there a specific color that you are looking for?" The woman asked.<br>"Yellow…" She replied. 'Must follow Karkat's condition…'

Sollux looked at her and blinked. "Really?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. "What in the world did KK tell you?" he couldn't help but at least smile a little bit. He watched as Katie moved around and picked out a bunch of different styled dresses. Sollux watched her go into the dressing room. He stood there awkwardly with her mom.

"So…. Sollux… Does Karkat… Hurt you?" Katie's mom asked.

He looked over at her and blinked. "Huh? Hurt me?" Sollux shook his head. "No. KK would never hurt me. Ever." He smiled a little bit, feeling even more awkward.

"But your arms… Didn't he do that?" She asked, looking down at the bandages. "Katie told me that he used to be violent…"

"KK can't hurt me." He laughed a little bit. "No. I did thith to mythelf. I freaked out. I wath in a thort of…. Dream thtate?" He blinked. "Thomething like that." He said, sighing quietly as he watched her. "He wath angry. Not entirely violent…. I can thtop him though if he geth too violent. Our entire rathe ith bathed off of violenthe. Our thociety wath oprethed and we chothe violenthe to counteract it." He stated it very matter-of-fact like, "Thome of uth grew up in mothtly dethent hometh and we didn't grow to be violent like motht of our anthethtorth did…." He trailed off, a sad look crossing his features. He looked like he was about to cry.

"Thome of them…. We looked up to… Like a father or mother."

"Oh… I'm so sorry that I assumed he did that…" She said softly.  
>"Mom! I need you!" Katie said, opening the door to her dressing room. Her mother stepped into the room, exclaiming at the sight of her daughter in the golden dress.<br>"Oh it's lovely Katie!" She smiled as she zipped it up.

Sollux sighed, leaning against the wall. He wished Karkat could hear him. Hell… He wished the Psionic could hear him.

He felt tears well up in his eyes. He swallowed whatever emotion he could, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. His face was slightly flushed yellow, strained from his need and wanting to cry. He could cry when he got home. He wouldn't ruin this moment for Katie.

Katie walked out of the dressing room, the gown flowing around her. "How does this look?" She asked Sollux, wanting him to approve since he would be spending time with her as she wore it.

"Thath really pretty." He smiled. "Ith a good color on you." He had to force himself to smile. He sniffed a little bit and smiled. "I wanna thee another one. The bottom lookth really poofy." He laughed a little bit. It was a dry laugh, almost forced.

Katie nodded. "Mom, help me get out of this thing…"  
>Katie's mom followed her back into the dressing room. "Is Sollux okay?" She asked, her voice quiet.<br>"Yeah… There was recently a death in their family so he's still kinda getting through that." Katie said softly.  
>"Oh my… Who?"<br>"His father…" Katie responded. "Thanks mom. I'll try and hurry into the next one."

Sollux sighed. He closed his eyes and rested his back against the wall. "Mmm…" He hummed, his voice quiet. He hummed the lullaby he had heard from his childhood. Something that had been passed down to him. He felt a single tear drip down his cheek, unnoticed.

Soon enough Katie was in another dress and ready to show Sollux. "How's this one?" She asked walking out. "It's a little low cut for my tastes but…"

He looked over. "Ith pretty, but I like the other one better." He smiled a little bit. "It wath more yellow." He laughed and smiled. "Reminded me of honey."

Katie glared at him. "Is honey all you think about?" She asked. "There is another one in there that looks like honey. Would you like to see it?"

"No I don't think only about honey." He glared back. "Yeah." He smiled. "I'd like to."

"That's not what Karkat said." She smirked as she went back into the dressing room. This next dress was a honey colored dress that was a bit like a mermaid cut but still flowed and had a strap on one shoulder. Her mother zipped her up and she went back out into the lobby.

"That one." He nodded. "That one that one that one." He smiled. "You thould really get that one."

Katie laughed as she twirled. "This one? Are you sure?" She asked, teasing him. "I'll get it." She smiled. "After we pay, it's off to the tuxes for Sollux!"

Sollux smiled. They paid for the dress, which to Sollux felt like it was way too much, but he didn't have any control over that. They walked through the mall to a tux rental store.  
>"Can I help you?" The man asked, walking up to Sollux.<p>

"We need to uh…."  
>"Rent a tux for him." Katie's mom replied, smiling.<p>

The man nodded and grabbed his tape measurer and started to measure Sollux, writing down the measurements. "Almost everything we have will be a little big on you but not by much. What color is your dress, dear?" He asked Katie.  
>"Honey yellow." She smiled.<p>

"Well, if you would go over to the color palate and show me the color then I can get him a vest and tie to try it all on with." The man smiled. Katie did as she was asked and found the color.  
>"This is it." She smiled pointing to it. He nodded and went back into the storage room. "Hey Sollux. How do you think Karkat will react to seeing you in a tux?"<p>

"Oh I have no idea." He laughed a little bit, blushing. "Probably really well." He smiled and leaned against the wall, waiting for the man to return with the tux in his size. Soon he returned and Sollux went into the dressing room. He pulled on the pants with ease. He pulled the dress shirt on, tucking it in like the picture said to do on the back of the door. He pulled on the vest. His pants almost slid down around his slender hips, but he pulled them up to stay in place. He pulled the jacket on over his shoulders. He opened the door and walked out. "I don't know how to tie a tie." He said, frowning.

The man nodded, handing Sollux a belt. "Try this to keep the pants up. I'll tie the tie."

Sollux laced the belt into the pants, closing it in the front. It helped considerably, but his pants were still a little bit too loose. "I think thethe will be okay." He said. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked really different. He liked it.

It was the day before prom. Sollux felt apprehensive. He had cried and cried until he felt nothing left. His father figure had been dead for a few days and it upset him. He grieved until he could grieve no more. He was fine with this because Karkat was there. He sighed quietly and leaned against the back of the couch, mindlessly watching TV. Carmine's cocoon had gotten much bigger. It wasn't ready to hatch yet, but he knew she was growing. He felt his eyes droop a bit. The room smelled like fresh cut flowers. Karkat's boss had brought them flowers. It smelled wonderful. Things had been…. Strange, around Karkat lately. He was much clingier than normal. In this instance for example, Karkat was lying against him, his arms around him as Sollux watched TV. They had cuddled a lot more than normal, which was fine. Sollux didn't mind it. He thought perhaps it might have been something relating to the fact that Psionic had just died, and Sollux couldn't do anything about it. He let out a shaky sigh, shaking his head.  
>Karkat got up and moved into the kitchen. They hadn't spoken much today, and it was driving Sollux mad. He looked towards the kitchen, trying desperately to figure out what he was thinking. The only things that were flashing in his mind where things about school…. And things about him and Katie.<p>

"KK can we talk for a minute?" Sollux said softly, at least knowing Karkat could hear him.

"Yeah. What's up?" Karkat asked, turning to face him. He smiled softly as he walked back to the living room. "Something wrong?"

"KK what do you have againtht Katie?" he asked, his eyes narrow. "Don't lie to me either, I can read your mind, remember?"

Karkat looked at him confused for a moment before realizing what Sollux was asking. "I'm just concerned about her red feelings toward you…" He said softly, looking at the ground.

"The ith my fucking moirail." He said, his voice getting a little agitated. "I don't have a fucking problem with Gam being yourth do I?" he said, his tone getting a little dangerous. "Do you not fucking believe me?"

"It's not the fact that you are moirails. It's the fact that she has red feelings for you. Am I not allowed to be jealous? Besides, there is a difference. Neither Gam nor I have unrequited red feelings for the other and we are happy in our relationships! I know you don't have red feelings for her but it still bothers me that she likes you." Karkat said. He didn't want to yell but he had to explain things to Sollux. "I know you won't be taken but I can't help but feel pissed when she stares at you."

Sollux growled. "Yeah? Well maybe I feel pithed whenever thomeone thtareth at you and thereth nothing I can fucking do about it!" He said, standing up, his fists clenching. He didn't even know why he was so angry, but he was.

Karkat walked over to him. "I'm not close to the people who stare at me… Katie hangs out with you every day. I'm not saying that I want you to stop hanging out with her. I just… I want to be assured that I have no reason to care about her feelings for you…" He wrapped his arms around Sollux. "I'm sorry…."

Sollux growled. "Don't fucking touch me!" He hissed, shoving Karkat onto the couch, pinning him down. He kissed him forcibly, biting down on Karkat's lip, pushing against him, his nails digging into his shoulders. He growled as he moved his hands lower on Karkat's body, pulling at his shirt, nearly ripping it with the force he took it off. He growled and bit down on his shoulder, raking his nails across his chest, not hard enough to leave a mark. He licked away the tiniest drops of blood he had drawn while biting down on Karkat's shoulder.

"I hate you tho much right now." He said, pulling at his pants.

A strange mixture of fear, panic, confusion and arousal washed over Karkat. "Sollux..." He whimpered. He hadn't meant to make him mad and he honestly wasn't sure what had set him off but he found this dominance from Sollux sexy and knew he would enjoy whatever Sollux decided to do to him.

Sollux grumbled and ripped his shirt from his body, quivering in rage. He stripped Karkat and himself of their clothing, He glared down at him, using his powers to pin him down. His anger was dying down, but he growled as he felt his muscles relax as he revealed his bulge, watching the expression on Karkat's face. He leaned over him, forcing one of them into his nook, the other gently stroking the edge of the bone hiding the bulge.

Karkat looked up at him, his eyes wide with the worry and fear that was pulsing through his veins. He moaned loudly as Sollux forced his bulge inside. "Sollux!" He wished he could wrap his arms around Sollux but he was pinned down.

Sollux lessened up on his powers, leaning over him, forcing it entirely inside, feeling it writhe within him. He didn't want to hurt Karkat. He wanted this to feel... At least somewhat decent.

Karkat bucked his hips up, bringing Sollux in deeper. He moaned loudly as he did so, a blush covering his face. He began to whimper as Sollux thrust into him, pain and pleasure creating the most delicious tingling throughout his body.

Sollux moaned, panting quietly as he felt his other bulge wrap around Karkat's gently pulsing around it. "Nnnn..." He kissed his face, holding him close.

Karkat kissed him back, running his tongue along Sollux's bottom lip. "Baby... Harder..." He whimpered. 'Dominate me...'

Sollux grunted, he shoved harder against him, moving his second bulge into him, letting them both squirm.

Karkat kissed him deeply to keep himself from screaming. He moved his hips with Sollux's. "Oh Gog... Sollux." He moaned. "Free my hands..."

Sollux let his hands go, his powers fading. He groaned.

Karkat wrapped his arms around Sollux's shoulders, digging his nails into his shoulders as he kissed his neck. He was glad for the release of his hands, it let him move. His kisses moved down onto Sollux's collarbone before he started to leave marks by sucking and biting.

"Mine."

"Nnngh... Don't leave too many markth..." he grumbled, his hands fumbling as they dug into his sides. "Nghhhhhhhh."

"Too bad." Karkat smirked, nipping at the skin. "You like it."

Sollux groaned, feeling himself squirm inside Karkat's nook. "Nnnngh, KK..."

'Besides, no one but me will see them.' He thought as he ran his tongue over where he had bitten him. Sollux hit somewhere that made Karkat screamed into Sollux's shoulder.

Sollux moaned, pushing against him, panting. "Fuck KK..." He hissed as he bit down on his shoulder hard.

Karkat moaned loudly, not sure if Carmine could hear them since she was in a cocoon. "Gog... Sollux!"

Sollux grunted, licking at the wound he had made. He grinned as he lapped up the blood, grinning as it stained his lips. He grinned and slammed his hips against Karkat.

Karkat gasped, his head falling back against the cushion. He thrust his hips up into Sollux's thrusts, deepening them.

Sollux groaned, raking his nails down Karkat's sides as he cried out. "F-Fuck!" He released into Karkat, filling him with genetic material. "Nnnghhhhhh..."

Karkat released soon after that, moaning Sollux's name as his genetic material spilled onto his chest. "Do you feel better now, Captor?"

Sollux nodded, collapsing against him, sighing quietly. "Nnn... Yeah..."

Karkat leaned up kissing him gently. "Now, why exactly did you hate me so much?' He asked, rubbing his back.

"I don't remember now." He said softly, snuggling his chest. "Nnnn..." he hummed quietly.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" He asked quietly. "I know Katie is."

"Not really. I don't want to be put in that kind of thituation." He sighed. "What do I do when I bring her back? I mean do I take her out to dinner? I..." he sighed. "I'm bad at thith."

"No. There will be dinner at the venue itself." Karkat said. "You pretty much bring her back and then come home to me." He laughed.

Sollux smiled. "Alright. You know it doethn't end until like... 3." he frowned. "Ith that thtill okay with you?" he smiled, smiling as he laid over him. "Nnnn."

"Completely fine with me. I have to help you take that suit off." He grinned, tracing random patterns on Sollux's back.

"Yeah." he grinned, leaning against him. "I'm thuppothed to act like I'm dating her." he said. "To pleathe the older lusii." he frowned. "Like... Hold her hand and thtuff. In a completely platonic way."

"I know. Her mom talked to me when you were at the store yesterday." Karkat sighed softly. "It was awkward..."

"Yeah... I mean the knowth we are together." he smiled. "Ith going to be interethting... Doing all of that." he frowned and kissed Karkat's chest gently. "Mmm..."

"Just think of it as holding hands to protect someone." He laughed. "I like these marks on you." He smirked, running his fingers over the marks on Sollux's shoulder.

Sollux cringed a little. "Nnn... That's gonna sting tomorrow." He muttered, looking at him.

"How do you think I'm going to feel?" Karkat asked. "At least you'll be able to move normally!" He laughed.

"Mmmm... You detherved it though." he grinned and rubbed against him, retracting his bonebulge fully, rubbing against him. "I'm thorry if I hurt you." he whispered.

"I'll be fine but you said you don't remember why you hated me so how can you say that I deserved it?" He asked, his fingers tracing around the bruises.

"Mmmm..." He hummed quietly. "I gueth I wath mad that you were jealouth of me... Or thomething like that. I wath jutht really angry."

"I was jealous of Katie... I don't think it's even really jealousy because I know you're mine and mine only but she just... I don't like how she acts around you sometimes..." Karkat said softly.

"Thee?" he pointed to the bruises. "I'm yourth and you..." he pointed to Karkat's shoulder. "...are mine."

"I'm aware." He smiled, wrapping his arms around Sollux. "I'm fine now but I was just concerned that she was going to try to steal you from me... I know she can't but it still kinda worried me."

"I won't be thtollen away." he smiled, gently kissing his chest. "Mmmm..." he shifted a little, resting his head next to his collarbone.

"I know. Plus, who would want you with all those hideous scars and hickies all over your shoulder?" He said sarcastically.

Sollux frowned. "That wath a low blow KK..." He drew circles on his stomach, relaxing in the warmth they shared.

"You know I like your scars and your lisp and your eyes and your tongue. Especially your tongue." He laughed. Karkat shivered a little. "How about you pull that blanket over us? I'm kinda cold."

"I am too." He grabbed the blanket and pulled it over them, snuggling down against him. "Mmm... Ith it okay that I'm lying on you?" he asked softly. "I don't want to hurt you..."

"I'm more worried about your arms. I'm glad that they are healing really well." He said softly, running his fingers through Sollux's hair. "I can handle you laying on me."

"Okay." He said softly, sighing quietly. "Mmm... Karkat I love you tho much." He snuggled him gently, touching his chest carefully. "Mmmmm..."

"I love you too Honey Bee. So much that it kinda scares me..." Karkat whispered.

Sollux smiled and continued to draw cute hearts and shapes on Karkat's belly. "I love you too. Thoooo much." He smiled and wrapped his arms around Karkat's torso, smiling sweetly.

"Baby... Be careful of your arms. I don't want them to open again." He smiled softly. "Just because I want to hear that adorable lisp of yours, how much do you love me?" Karkat giggled a little.

"Tho much KK I can't even tell you." He smiled and moved his arms gently, holding them against him. "Mmmmm... I love thnuggling with you more than anything and kitthing you and holding onto you and loving you and yeah..." He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

"You're so adorable." He smiled down at Sollux. "I love you so much Honey Bee. I also love snuggling and kissing you."

Sollux smiled, resting against him. "I'm tho thleepy..." He rubbed his eyes. "Can I thleep here." he whispered.

"I think we should probably go up to the coon so Carmine doesn't worry. I don't want her sending bad images to your head again..." Karkat said softly. "Think you can get upstairs?"

"Yeah." He shifted, getting up. "Mmmmmmm." He hummed, looking down at himself. "I'm jutht gonna... Wrap my thelf in thith blanket." he smiled. "I'm covered in... You." he laughed. "Ehehehe." He wrapped it around his waist.

"Pervert... Now what am I supposed to do? You ripped my clothes!" He glared playfully at him. "Besides, you know you like being covered in me." He smirked.

Sollux laughed. "Mmmm I know but not in front of the wriggler." he laughed. "Thionikth are thtrange thingth. I think I got vithionth in my cocoon."

"What does that have anything to do with what I'm supposed to wear upstairs?" Karkat asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Nothing." he grinned. "Thith ith part of the kithmethith thing." he smiled and hurried up towards the stairs. "Ehehehehehe."

"You're a jerk, Sollux!" Karkat yelled up the stairs. "At least that dumbass didn't take his clothes..." He smirked, grabbing the black and yellow out fit and pulling it on. "God he's too tall for me to steal his pants..."

Sollux smiled, hurrying up the stairs. "Mmm~" he hummed, grinning. He stood at the top of the stairs, laughing.

Karkat walked out of the living room in Sollux's boxers and shirt. "What was that about wearing nothing?" He smirked, his hands on his hips as he looked up the stairs at Sollux.

Sollux laughed. "Come on." he smiled and stretched his arms up into the air, the blanket falling. "GAH!"

Karkat laughed as he walked up the stairs. "I think you are the one with the wardrobe malfunctions, love." He smiled, picking the blanket up from around Sollux's feet. "You see something you like? You keep staring at me."

Sollux rolled his eyes. "Duh, KK. I like you. No wait. I LOVE you." He quirked an eyebrow, reaching for the blanket.

"Who says you get this back?" Karkat smirked pulling it around his shoulders. "I don't know about you but I'm ready for bed." He smiled as he walked toward the bedroom.

Sollux grumbled. "Fine, fine. We're thleeping in the coon tonight." he said, walking into the bedroom, rushing to the recuperacoon, grinning as he climbed inside, sinking into the warm liquid.

Karkat laid the blanket on the bed before stripping and climbing into the recuperacoon as well. "This is nice." He smiled as he put the mask on and sunk underneath the liquid.

Sollux did the same, relaxing as soon as he sunk beneath the liquid, breathing gently as he slept.

Karkat was curled up beside Sollux. He woke up around 4 am, screaming into the mask and having to get out of the recuperacoon. He sat on the floor of the bathroom, shivering and rocking back and forth.

Sollux shifted, feeling the liquid levels drop a little. He got out of the liquid, pulling the mask out as he stumbled into the bathroom. "KK?" he rubbed his eyes wearily.

Karkat's eyes were wide open as he shook his knees to his chest. "No... Not that..."

Sollux blinked. "KK..." He looked down at him, his vision a little blurry. "KK..." he walked closer, reaching his hands out. "KK…"

Karkat didn't even notice that Sollux was in the room, let alone close to him. He continued to shake, everything around him surrounded in the red of, what he was used to being, his blood.

Sollux went down on his knees, gently wrapping his arms around Karkat tightly. "Hey..."

Pain erupted in Karkat's side and he winced, folding in on himself. "So... Much... Red..." He whimpered. "Why..."

"KK...?" He looked down at him. "Karkat what ith wrong?" He gently touched his face. "KK can you hear me?!" He didn't want to shout.

Karkat wanted to scream but his mouth wouldn't open anymore. He could feel everything as the memories of his rape came back but for some reason everything around him was red. Suddenly everything disappeared and Karkat felt as if his arms were held above his head, searing pain in his wrists.

Sollux panicked. He slowly started to hum the dauntingly slow melody of the lullaby he learned. It always had calmed him down before. What was the hurt in trying it this time? He hummed close to his ear so he could hear it.

The pain started to fade throughout his entire body as reality started to come back. "What... What happened?" Karkat asked, looking around after a moment. "Why am I in the bathroom?"

"You woke up and came in here. Are you okay?" He kissed the side of his head, gently rocking him in his arms. "KK you had me tho worried..." He frowned and held him close.

"Everything was red and the... The rape... There was so much blood... Then I was the Signless..." Karkat stuttered. "I could feel everything."

He pulled him into his lap, holding his warm naked body against him. "Ith okay..." he whispered. "Ith okay..." he cooed, gently humming the lullaby again.

Karkat nuzzled into Sollux's neck. "I... I..." He whispered, trying to tell Sollux that he loved him but he was still having trouble speaking.

"Thhhh... I know I know..." He gently kissed the top of his head. "Ith okay." he pulled him closer.

After about an hour, Karkat was finally okay enough to go back to the recuperacoon with Sollux. "I'm sorry." He said over and over after they woke up.

Sollux rolled over and rubbed his eyes. "Nnn ith fine, ith fine." he whispered, leaning against him. "Don't apologithe."

Karkat buried his face in Sollux's chest. 'I'm trying not to think about it... Can I have a kiss?'

Sollux nodded, pursing his lips.

Karkat kissed him gently, pulling away after a moment. "My Honey Bee needs to eat breakfast." He said softly, climbing out of the recuperacoon to go shower. "Will... Will you come with me?"

Sollux nodded. He yawned big and crawled out, stumbling as he did so. "Nnnn..." he stood and walked with Karkat to the bathroom.

The pair showered, ate breakfast and spent most of the day cuddling and kissing sweetly.

* * *

><p>On the other side of town, Gamzee was helping his Subjugglators move his and Tavros' things into the moving van. "Are you excited Tav?"<p>

Tavros nodded furiously. "Y-YEAH!" he said, smiling brightly.

Gamzee smiled, kissing his cheek gently. "When, Kairin comes out, can you tell him that I really want some chocolate ice cream to be waiting at the new house?"

Tavros nodded. "Okay." he said, smiling. "I can do that." he rubbed his eyes. He had been nearly asleep in his wheelchair. He was so tired.

Gamzee carried the box over to the truck, where one of the smaller Subjugglators was stacking them in the truck.

Kairin came back outside, it was a bit of a task for him to get inside the tiny apartment but that would all be fixed when the new Grand Highblood or Gamzee as he preferred to be called, and his matesprit Tavros was in the new house.

Tavros rubbed his eyes and nodded again. "U-Uh Kairin?" he asked, his voice nervous.

"Yes Tavros?" He asked looking down at the shy lowblood. "Are you okay?"

"Uh... Uh I'm okay... Uh... Gamzee wants chocolate ice cream at the house." he said, biting his lip carefully.

"We already stocked it with ice cream of both yours and Gamzee's favorite flavors." Kairin smiled. "Was that all you needed, Tavros?"

Tavros nodded quickly, whimpering. He was terrified of the Subjugglators. There was something about them that just made him really frightened.

"Then I will return to helping Gamzee pack everything into the truck while you rest. You need to keep your strength up." Kairin smiled as he walked away. "Gamzee... Tavros seems really frightened." He said when he saw Gamzee walking back.

"He's a lowblood who has been taught to fear you guys. It's reasonable but he'll get used to it... I think..." Gamzee sighed. 'He's even a little scared of me...'

Tavros nodded, and hugged his stuffed animal tighter, wheeling a little bit around as he sat in the

sun. It was so warm.

Gamzee went over to Tavros. "Tav! I need a Tav-kiss!" He pouted a little.

Tavros looked over. "G-Gamzee!" he smiled, reaching his arms out.

Gamzee picked Tavros up, out of his wheelchair. "My Tav." He grinned.

Tavros giggled. "Gamzee please don't uh... Drop me."

"I would never drop you!" Gamzee pouted. "Now I want 2 Tav-kisses."

Tavros leaned up, gently kissing Gamzee once, and then twice. "Hehehehe."

Gamzee grinned, touching his nose to Tavros'. "I love you so much Tav."

"I love you too." He smiled, resting his head against his. "Mmmm~"

Gamzee smiled.

"Gamzee?" Kairin asked. "Are the boxes done being loaded?"

"There's a few more inside but I want to spend time with Tav. He looked lonely." Gamzee said, holding Tavros close to him. Kairin simply nodded before getting back to work.

Tavros smiled and nuzzled Gamzee gently. "Thanks Gamzee."

Gamzee kissed the tip of Tavros' nose. "I love you so much Tavros." He smiled lazily.

Tavros smiled, leaning against him. "Mmm Gamzee I love you." he grinned. "Can I be put down?" he asked. "My back kind of hurts a little."

Gamzee nodded, kissing his cheek again before carefully setting him down in the wheelchair.

Tavros smiled, gently holding his stuffed animal in his arms as he wheeled back towards the apartment. He cringed a little bit when he saw the huge Subjugglator come from within the apartment.

Gamzee helped the Subjugglators remove the last few boxes. "Hey Tav. We're almost ready to leave for the new house."

"Can I go inside and just see if I've forgotten anything?" he frowned and wheeled towards the apartment.

"Of course." Gamzee smiled, following behind him.

Tavros wheeled around the apartment, feeling a little saddened that they were leaving. He'd have to get used to a brand new home in the mountains. The air there would be good for him. He smiled and turned back towards the door. "I think I have everything." he said, smiling.

"Okay. Ready to go?" Gamzee asked, walking toward him.

Tavros nodded and smiled. "Yeah." he said. He felt a little apprehensive, but he knew it would all be alright.

"It'll be okay Tav. I'm here!" Gamzee smiled as he walked behind the wheel chair, pushing it toward the bus. "Equius is driving the truck and my 'lattors are walking."

Tavros nodded. "Okay." he said, holding onto the stuffed animal tighter. "I'm just uh... Nervous about moving in." he smiled and blushed a little.

"Why? Is it because of the Subjugglators? There will only be 2 living with us..." Gamzee said softly. "I know they are big but they're not going to hurt you, Tav."

"I...I know." he said, looking at him. "I'm just... Uh... Small." he smiled up at him.

Gamzee stopped the wheelchair and stepped in front of it, putting his hand on Tavros' cheek. "Tav. You really don't need to be scared of them. They can't hurt you. Okay?"

Tavros nodded. "I know... I know Gamzee." he said quietly.

He watched his face for a few minutes before kissing his nose and wheeling him to the bus. 'Please stop being so scared of me Tav...'

Tavros hugged his plushy tightly as they got into the bus. He knew he would probably sleep against the window as they drove.

Gamzee backed out of the parking lot and started on the long drive to their new home. He was glad when they finally made it.

Tavros had fallen asleep, resting his head on his stuffed animal, his breathing soft and quiet. He shifted just a little when the bus came to a stop.

Gamzee smiled and pulled the blanket that kept in the bus, out from the backseat, covering Tavros with it before he got out of the bus. "Okay. Quietly and quickly, let's get everything into the house and put the bed together."

"We bought you a new bed too... All of your furniture is new... We told you already." Kairin said.

"Oh yeah... Sorry." Gamzee smiled. "

Tavros breathed quietly, his chest rising and falling as he dreamed. It was a pleasant dream about happy things. He smiled a little bit in his sleep, snuggling his stuffed bull tighter.

Gamzee and his Subjugglators moved everything in as quickly and quietly as they could. When all the boxes were finally moved in, Gamzee went back to the bus, slowly opening Tavros' door and unbuckling his seat belt. He slipped his arms around Tavros. "Kairin... Get his chair from the back of the bus and bring it to our room." Gamzee whispered. Kairin nodded and waited until Gamzee had carried Tavros inside before getting the wheelchair.

Tavros shifted a little bit, but he didn't wake. They went into the house. It smelled a little like fresh paint amongst cleaning supplies and candles. Tavros stirred a little bit, but kept his eyes closed.

Gamzee took Tavros and laid him on the bed, pulling off his pants before stripping himself of his clothes.

"Gamzee!" Kairin gasped as he brought the wheelchair in.

"What? I'm getting ready for bed. I'm tired." Gamzee said softly. "Now leave the chair there and go away."

Tavros mumbled something and rolled over against the pillow.

Gamzee crawled into bed, wrapping his arms around Tavros. "Night Tav."

* * *

><p>Soon it was time for Sollux to get ready to go to prom with Katie. "No. You're going. You promised and I'm fine." Karkat said holding the bag that had Sollux's tux inside. "You're going."<p>

Sollux groaned audibly, mumbling angrily as he took the bag and walked into the bathroom. He put on everything except for that stupid tie. He walked out and sighed. "I can't fucking tie thith..."

Karkat smiled, walking over and tying the tie with ease. He took a step back to admire his work. "I am definitely helping you take that off when you get home." He smirked.

Sollux smiled and nodded. "I'm glad." he smirked and leaned in to kiss him. "Doeth my hair look okay?"

"I would look better with my fingers in it." Karkat said softly.

Sollux smiled. "Aw..." he blushed and squirmed a little bit. He leaned down and kissed Karkat gently. "Thith ith going to be tho weird." he said, frowning.

"We need to discuss something... Since you are pretending to be her boyfriend tonight... If she kisses you. Let her." Karkat looked Sollux straight in the eyes. "Be polite about it. Does that make sense?"

"W-..." He blinked and turned yellow. "Are you thaying that theth going to?" he seized up a little bit, frowning.

"I'm just saying that if she does, it's okay." Karkat said softly. "I don't know if she will or not but you're pretending to be her boyfriend in front of her elder lusii so it would make sense." He leaned up and kissed him gently. "If she did, it would probably be just a peck."

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." He blushed and looked down. "KK do I really look okay?" he frowned, sighing quietly. "I feel thtupid."

A wide grin placed itself firmly on Karkat's face. "Here is a description about how you look right now. If you weren't about to leave, you wouldn't even have this on anymore and you would be fucking me senseless." He smiled. "You look that hot."

Sollux blushed even darker. "Oh Gog..." he muttered, his eyes straying.

Karkat laughed. "Glad you enjoyed that because that will be the only time you ever hear that from me again." He turned toward the kitchen. "Ever."

He smiled and followed. "I'm glad you think of me ath thuch." he smiled and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm going to walk over there now." he said, his voice soft as he whispered into Karkat's ear. "I'll thee you in the bright early morning hourth." he kissed his cheek before turning and walking to the door.

Karkat shivered slightly. "Damn you Captor." He pouted. "Try to have a good time." He said softly as he waved to him before going and sitting on the couch, waiting for Feferi and Eridan to bring Addison over.

Katie stood in her bedroom, in panic. Sollux was about to come over to take pictures before leaving for prom and she was so nervous. Her grandparents expected Sollux to be her boyfriend and he agreed to pretend to be so with Karkat's permission but that didn't help the fact that she had a huge crush on her moirail and that she would be holding his hand and hugging on him at least until they got to the venue itself...

Sollux let out a shaky sigh and walked across the street, knocking on the door. Why in the hell was he so nervous? He had nothing to be nervous about... Right?

Katie's mom answered the door. "Sollux. Well, don't you look handsome!" She smiled. "Come in, come in."

Sollux blushed a little bit as he stepped inside. "Hi..." He waved nervously. There were two elderly humans sitting in the room, who looked almost slightly appalled at the troll standing in the living room. It seemed they did not like this idea in the least.

"Mom, Dad, this is Sollux. He's Katie's boyfriend." Her mom said. "Have a seat Sollux. Katie will be down in a moment."

Sollux nodded, gently sitting down in the chair across the room from this elderly couple.

"So... Sollux, how long have you two been dating?" The elderly woman asked, crossing her legs.

"Oh uhm... Um..." He thought about it. He hadn't known her that long. "About a month." he said, smiling weakly, folding his hands in his lap, trying to not scratch himself with his claws.

"Oh that's nice. Do you go to school with Katie?" The man asked. "You at least look like a high schooler."

Sollux shook his head. "N-No I'm hometchooled." He had heard that term a while back... It looked like a good term to use.

"That's interesting." The woman said. They chatted for a few more minutes before Katie came downstairs. She smiled at Sollux, who stood at the bottom.

"I'm sorry..." She said in Alternian, having just learned it in school.

Karkat sat on the couch, wrapped up in Sollux's bee blanket and wearing his pajamas as he started to watch his favorite movie.

Sollux smiled. "Itth okay." He replied back. He didn't know if she could understand him or not, but it was at least something.

She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You excited?" She smiled. Let the acting begin...

"Y-Yeah." he replied back, his cheeks slightly yellow. "I am." he smiled at her the best he could without baring his fangs.

Katie smiled at him. She was still having a hard time believing that she was hugging him and that he was pretending to be her boyfriend... Wait... Did that mean?

Sollux slid the corsage that her mother had gotten for him to give to Katie onto her wrist, smiling a little bit for the cameras. He felt slightly embarrassed.

Katie giggled as his fingers brushed against her wrist. "It's so pretty!"

"It matcheth your dreth." he smiled and giggled a little bit, his voice soft.

The pair went through the pictures without too much damage and soon they were off to the prom! "Wow... This looks amazing." Katie smiled as they pulled up to the venue.

"Wow..." Sollux smiled, looking around as he parked the car. "Wow..." He laughed a little nervously.

"I'm glad that you were the one to drive. I'm really sorry about my grandparents... They are ridiculous sometimes..." Katie sighed as she opened the door.

"Itth quite okay." He smiled, holding out his arm. "I'm glad you're having fun right now." he smiled sweetly. "At letht right now."

"Let's go inside..." Katie smiled. "Thank you for this Sollux. It means a lot to me."

"You're welcome." he said, smiling. "I'm glad I could be of thervithe." He grinned and laughed as they walked inside.

The night had started well and Katie was ecstatic. She had the guy of her dreams beside her and she was wearing an amazing dress. How could things get better? Unless she... Would she even be able to or would that start a fight between the two of them?

Sollux didn't really dance much. He felt embarrassed, plus people were making fun of him. He looked over at a certain point and gasped. "ED!" He ran over, laughing as he smacked Eridan in the arm.

"GAH! Wwhat the hell Sol..." He smiled and wrapped his arms around Sollux, hugging him. "Kar said you wwere goin' to be here. I thought he wwas kiddin'."

Feferi turned. "Sollux! You're here! That means that Eri owes me ice cream! Thanks!" She giggled. "You look amazing! Did Karkat pick that out for you?"

Katie sat at their table when one of her friends came over. "Why are you here with a troll?"

"Because he's my friend..." Katie said softly. "He's really sweet Aiden."

Eridan growled. "Oh come on Fef, thath not fair." He frowned and wrapped his arm around her.

Sollux looked over. "I'm... Going to go back over there." he frowned. "Thomething doethn't look at that great." he walked back over and stood next to Katie. "Ith there a problem?"

"We had a bet and you lost Eri. I get ice cream!" Feferi smiled, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Sollux... This is my friend Aiden. He's like a brother to me." Katie smiled. "Aiden, this is Sollux. My moirail."

Sollux nodded his head. "Ahhhh. Nithe to meet you." He held out his hand to him to shake it.

Aiden blatantly ignored the hand.

Eridan grinned. "I know, I knoww."

"Aiden... Be nice." Katie glared at him.

"Why should I? He's a fucking troll, that's disgusting." Aiden grumbled, turning his nose up at Sollux.

"Because he's my moirail and he's actually really sweet. It doesn't matter that he's a troll." Katie said. "Sollux, I'm sorry that Aiden is being such a dick." She said turning to face Sollux. "He's usually not that bad."

Sollux moved around her, taking a seat. "Ith okay." He said, smiling. Aiden growled, and sneered at Sollux before walking away.

Eridan smiled and gently hugged Feferi. "Mmm... I lovve you so much, Fef."

Katie sighed. "I wish he would stop acting like this... He has a girlfriend."

"I love you too Erifin!" She giggled. "I hope Karkat is okay with having Carmine and Addy there..."

"I dunno." He said, frowning. "Maybe he thinkth... I don't know. Like I'll hurt you or thomething." he frowned.

"I'm sure he's fin." he smiled. "Kar is a master at keepin' the grubs happy."

"He acts like that with any guy I talk to..." Katie admitted. "I've kinda had a crush on him since we were little but I've given up on anything ever happening. His girlfriend is like a supermodel..."

"He is." Feferi smiled. "I just worry about my Addy..."

"Thath lame. Thupermodelth are too thkinny." he frowned. "Like I can really thay anything."

"I knoww. Kar is an amazing person. I knoww he'll take good care of Addy."

Katie smiled. "Thanks. He's really not a bad guy but... I guess he feels the need to protect me... Or something..."

Karkat had spent the last couple hours watching Disney movies with Addison. He was kinda glad that the grub had eaten before coming over because he didn't really feel like cooking. "I hope he's having a good time..."

Sollux nodded. "Hey... Leth get thomething to eat. I'm thtarving." he smiled and stood, holding out his hand to her.

Katie's face turned red but she took his hand. Sollux would probably know her as well as Aiden did but he made her feel special and that made her happy. "I'm surprised that Karkat didn't feed you before you left." She giggled.

"He didn't feel like cooking." He smiled. They walked out of the room with all the noise, walking instead into a much quieter room with brighter lights for eating. There was a dull mumbling across the hall as couples and friends ate together.

"Is he okay?" Katie asked. 'Oh my god... He's still holding my hand... What do I do?'

Sollux smiled. "Yeah. Heth perfectly fine." he grinned, walking with her up to the table to get food from the buffet. It all looked wonderful. At the end there was a chocolate fountain and lots of assorted fruits and sweet things to dip in the molten chocolate. Sollux grinned. "Awethome." He let go of her hand, gently grabbing a plate and filling it with food.

"I see how you are. Choosing chocolate over your moirail!" Katie laughed as she joined him in the attack of the chocolate fountain. "I'm willing to forgive you. Be grateful for my mercy!"

Sollux laughed. "But ith chocolate." he grinned and put a bunch of now chocolate covered strawberries on his plate. "I love chocolate." he grinned. "Ith one thing that keepth weight on me."

"I know. That's why I forgive you." Katie laughed, putting her hand on his shoulder. "So stop worrying. We're still moirails."

Sollux smiled. He took the plate to the table, setting it down. He pulled the chair out for Katie.

"Why thank you!" She smiled as she sat. "Do you act like such a gentleman for Karkat?"

He pushed the chair in. "Thometimes." he grinned and walked around, sitting down to start eating.

They ate relatively silently with random bouts of conversation. "I had no idea that you knew Ampora. That's kinda funny."

"Yeah. I know him and I know FF. Hith matethprit. ED ith a pretty good friend of mine." he smiled sweetly as he shoved food in his mouth.

"That's so cool." Katie smiled.

"Yeah. We uh... Uthed to hate one another." he laughed and smiled. "But that'th all fithked now."

"That explains everything! Wait... He was at your... He's Addison's dad! How the hell did I forget?" Katie laughed.

"Yeah." He smiled as he finished cleaning his plate. "We uthed to fight all the time, now thingth are obviouthly a lot better. I think a lot of it hath to do with the fact that him and FF are together." he smiled.

"Did you use to like her or something? Before getting with Karkat?" She asked quietly.

"Meh." He shrugged his shoulders. "Feferi ith a really cool girl. We have been friendth for a long time, but nothing really more than that." he said as he shoved a chocolate covered strawberry in his mouth.

"Oh... Hey Aiden." Katie smiled at the person standing behind Sollux. "What's up?"

"I need to talk to the troll..." He said, his eyes dark.

Sollux turned and looked at him. "Okay..." he muttered, standing up. "I'll be right back Katie." he smiled and turned to face Aiden.

Aiden walked outside the door and waited until they were alone. He pushed Sollux up against the wall. "I swear. If you try to touch her, your ass is grass." He glared at Sollux. "I don't care how hot you think you are. She is too innocent for a fucking troll."

"If I were you, I'd take your handth off me." He said, his voice static. His eyes, which now that night had fallen, glowed dimly in the moonlight.

Aiden moved his hand to the wall beside Sollux. "You better not have any ill intentions toward her. I swear to god if you fucking touch her."

"Now why would I do that to my friend?" he cocked his head to the side. "You don't theem like the brightetht crayon in the bokth." he said, smiling a little bit. "Katie ith nothing more than my friend."

"Then why do you keep holding her hand? It's obvious that you two like each other!"

"Pthhhhhbthhh." he burst out laughing. "Ath friendth." he said, quirking his eye brows at him. "Ith nithe to be a gentleman."

"So... You're saying you don't have romantic feelings for her? But why not? She's adorable and sweet!" Aiden said softly.

"Make up your mind." He said. "The'th very adorable. Thweet yeth. I care about her ath a friend and nothing more." he sighed.

"I don't believe you."

"Pfft." He rolled his eyes. "What." He said. "What do I have to prove to you?"

"Are you in a relationship with someone?" He asked. "A committed relationship?"

"Yeth. I am." He said, his voice stern.

"Name, species and age." Aiden asked, never taking his eyes from Sollux's.

"Karkat Vantath, Troll, 20." He glared back, his eyes narrowing. "Whath it to you?"

"If you answer quickly then it's true especially since you didn't even have to think about it." Aiden said. "Okay... I believe you."

"Good." He said. "Katie ith my moirail. I will do whatever it is to make her happy. If the wanth to hold my hand then the can. If the wanth a kith, then I will give her a kith. Do I make mythelf clear?"

"Why would you kiss her if you are dating someone?" Aiden asked, stepping back from Sollux. "You said you were committed..."

"You mutht not underthtand troll relationthipth very well." He said. "We are a different rathe from you humanth. Our relationthipth are bathed on reproduction to thurvive." he said, glaring at him. "Katie ith my moirail, KK ith my matethprit." he said simply. "KK ith my reproduction partner, and Katie ith my betht friend

. Get it?"

"If you're only with Karkat for reproduction then why are you calling your relationship committed? That sounds like nothing more than sex." Aiden said. "I get the thing with Katie, kinda but that just doesn't make sense..."

"I love Karkat more than anything. I would die for him." His voice was stern. "Thekth ith involved. Yeth, but our relationthip knowth no boundrieth."

"Wait... Him? Karkat is a guy?" Aiden asked. "That makes so much sense... You couldn't possibly feel anything for Katie besides friendship because you're gay..."

"Heh." He snorted. "Trollth don't bathe their relationthipth on gender." He said. "Bethideth..." He couldn't wait to hear the reaction from this one, "We have both parth."

Aiden didn't know what to say to that but his eyes were wide enough to show his shock. "Uh..."

Katie came out from around the corner. "So that's what this was all about... Aiden..."

Sollux grinned ear to ear. He giggled a little, which turned into a laugh. The look on the kid's face was hysterical.

"Did you know that Katie?" Aiden asked. Katie just nodded.

"Two of my best friends are trolls..." She laughed. "Your face is hilarious..."

"Then... Why do you keep blushing around him?" He asked her.

"Oh... I like Sollux as more than friends but we're just friends."

Sollux moved away from the wall, gently wrapping his arms around her. "Moirailth." he smiled.

Katie smiled. "I know he's with Karkat and he loves Karkat. Though I wasn't expecting to find out that I could kiss him... I might take you up on that offer Sollux." She laughed. "But either way, we're just friends. Completely unromantic and mostly platonic... I think..."

Sollux flushed bright yellow. Oh dear, he thought, trying to wipe that thought from his mind.

Karkat sat around the house. Carmine was in her cocoon and Addison was in bed asleep. He sighed, trying to not think about the fact that it was close to midnight and he missed Sollux. "I'll send him a text!" He smiled, pulling out his phone. "HEY HONEY BEE! JUST WANTED TO SEE HOW THINGS WERE GOING. I LOVE YOU!"

Sollux felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Aw..." He said as he looked at the text that illuminated the phone. He typed back: 'thiing2 are goiing fiine. iim tryiing my be2t two have a good tiime. ii really 2uck at danciing.'

"What did Karkat say? You're smiling like a retard." Katie asked, trying to look at Sollux's phone.

Karkat laughed as he got the message. "I WOULD PAY GOOD MONEY TO SEE YOU DANCE."

Sollux blushed bright yellow. "G-GAH!" He hid the phone before texting back quickly. "dont 2ay that aaahhh that2 embarra2iing"

Katie looked up at Sollux. "I would too." She winked at him.

Aiden stood there, thoroughly confused. "What's going on?"

"I LOVE YOU. I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL YOU GET HOME... I MISS YOU. 3"

Sollux blushed. "Gah thtop iiiiit..." He shoved his phone back in his pocket, in the process texting Karkat a blurry of letters and numbers: "6uyg23hwe2iifupbbbb"

Karkat was lying on the couch, laughing his ass off. He was happy that Sollux was having a good time. It was also a plus to think of him blushing in that tux... "Gog he's hot... And all mine!" Karkat smiled to himself.

"He really likes embarrassing you, doesn't he? I mean that text is like he's practically warning you that you are going to raped when you get home..." Katie laughed.

"Wait... Karkat sent you a text?" Aiden asked. "What did it say?"

"He already told me he practically wath. Guaaah... Thith ith tho embarrathing." He put his face into his hands, shaking his head. "Guh."

"At least you have been warned and can take appropriate measures..." Katie giggled. "Make sure you lock the door this time."

Sollux looked at her and his jaw dropped. "Aa-gah..." he looked down. "Thorry! I forget! Hiveth back on Alternia didn't have lockth..."

"It's fine. It's funny to bring it up and see your face turn completely yellow..." She laughed.

"Okay. Seriously, someone explain what happened." Aiden said sternly.

"I walked in on Karkat and Sollux because he forgot to lock the door. It was quite the show..." Katie smirked. "I have to say. Purple is a nice color on Sollux."

"GAH holy crap pleathe thtop I feel like my face ith going to ekthplode..." he flailed his arms before turning and walking back towards the door to go inside.

"I'm sorry Sollux but you make it too easy." Katie smiled. "Let's go inside Aiden."

Sollux sighed, walking inside, trying to get his face to return back to its normal color. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he didn't see anyone in the hall. The music boomed from down the hallway. He hadn't done much dancing at all to be honest. He just kind of swayed around a bit while Katie did a lot of moving around him. He sighed. Maybe he should try harder.

"Hey Sollux, have you ever seen Karkat dance?" Katie asked. "He kinda told me that you didn't go to your prom with him..."

"I didn't." he said, frowning. "I don't like to dance. I'm... No good." he frowned. "Pluth I think I'd look thtupid tho I jutht don't." he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"I can show you, if you want to learn." Katie smiled. "I'm sure Karkat would die from happiness if you started slow dancing with him randomly."

He blushed darkly. "I uh...uh..." He shook his head and wrung his hands. "KK... Ith romantic like that but I don't think I could do it."

"I think you could. Especially in that tux." Katie smiled and grabbed his hand. "Come on. It's a slow song and it's not hard."

Sollux blushed and followed, shuffling his feet as he did so. "Mmmm..." he hummed.

Katie pulled him over to the dance floor, turning to face him as she moved his hands to her hips. "First step, put your hands on his hips." She then moved her arms to around Sollux's neck. "He should do something like this as soon as you do. Then just sway and turn in a circle like this." She started to move slowly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

Sollux smiled a little bit. "Thith... Actually ithnt that hard." he said, blushing. "I think I can do that."

"It's not hard to be romantic. You could do small things for him like all the time!" Katie smiled. "I bet he would be really excited if you did."

He nodded and gently moved them around. The song changed to an upbeat one. "G-Gahh... Uh..."

"I'll let you go now." She moved back from him. "Did you enjoy your dance lesson?"

"Y-Yeah." he smiled. "I'll try that on him tonight." He grinned and moved back, feeling a nudge as he was shoved out of the way.

"You will surely sweep him off his feet." Katie smiled. "Hey! The chocolate fountain is still on!"

Sollux grinned and walked over to the fountain, dipping a strawberry into it before shoving it in his mouth. "Mmmm~~"

I'm glad you're having a good time." Katie smiled. "Um... If you don't mind me asking. Why didn't you go to prom with Karkat? I bet he really wanted you too..."

"That... Well... It wath during a time that we didn't really... I don't know how to ekthplain it." Sollux looked away, averting his eyes.

"I'm not going to judge you. I'm just curious." Katie said softly.

"We... Never really acknowledged our feelingth for one another at that point." he said softly. "It wath kind of like... I wathn't embarrathed by the fact that KK wath my matethprit, but I didn't want anyone elthe to know." he frowned. "Doeth that make any theeth?"

"Insecurities with yourself and not your relationship..." She nodded. "That would make sense but how come you are okay with showing it now?"

"I don't know. I gueth ith becauthe I grew up." He shrugged, dipping another piece of fruit in the fountain.

"That sounds reasonable." Katie sighed. "This is in no way directed toward you but I wish I could get a boyfriend..."

"I'm thure you can find one." he smiled and patted her shoulder. "I know you can."

"Thanks Sollux." She smiled at him. "You're sweet."

He smiled and gently dipped another fruit in the chocolate, chewing it before taking her hand. "Can you teach me how to dance...? Like… How everyone elthe ith?" he flushed yellow.

"You want to learn how to dance like that? It's just grinding your hips. Not much to it." Katie said looking up at him. "I mean I can show you if you really want me to but you're already yellow..."

Sollux blushed. "Ith... Ith it bad or thomething?" he asked. "Would KK like it?"

"Well, it's not romantic. It's more sexual and honestly, I don't know if he'd like it. If you two went clubbing or something, that's the type of dancing you would be doing." Katie informed him. "Do you think he would like it?"

"...Probably." he blushed darker. "Knowing him. Yeth."

Katie's face turned red. "Okay... Well... I'll show you if you want..."

"N-no ith okay." he blushed. "It'll be okay. Leth go dance.' he said, laughing nervously.

She nodded, her gaze intently set on the floor as they went to the dance floor. She stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do.

Sollux shifted a little with the music, feeling embarrassed.

Katie sighed and shook her head, grabbing one of Sollux's hands as she turned around and pulled him so their bodies were touching. "Move with my hips." She instructed.

Sollux turned bright yellow. "O-okay..." He muttered, moving as little as possible.

Katie started to move her hips from side to side, pushing back slightly on Sollux's. 'Well this is interesting...' She giggled mentally.

Sollux blushed and ignored the friction against his hips. He didn't care. This was dancing... Strangely enough. He moved with the music, finding the pattern with it. This was fun.

"Hey! You're getting it!" Katie laughed as she continued dancing. "Since you are actually dating Karkat, you would probably have your arm around his waist. Like this." She pulled his arm around her waist, trying not to blush.

"Ahh okay." he smiled. "And thinthe you and I are pretending to be dating... Thith ith aktheptable right?"

"Yes." Katie nodded, her blush getting darker as she thought about it. "You would probably also kiss him..."

Sollux nodded a little, brushing his nose against her cheek. "Heh."

Katie giggled a little. "Nerd."

"Yup." He said, turning his head, planting a soft kiss on her cheek.

She smiled as her blush became darker. Katie continued to dance but she didn't know what to do or how to react since her crush had just kissed her. Granted, it was only on the cheek but it was still a kiss.

Sollux continued dancing with her until he pulled back, smiling. "Thankth." he said, laughing a bit.

She turned to face him. "Not a problem. We're moirails after all." She smiled, her cheeks still flushed pink.

"Yup!" He grinned and wiggled about a little as he moved towards the back wall, leaning against it. It was getting later and later and he was getting more and more tired.

Katie followed him, her mind consumed with thoughts of kissing the yellow blooded troll. 'Okay... He said that I could...' She thought to herself. When she thought he wasn't paying much attention, she leaned up and planted a small kiss on his lips.

Sollux's eyes went wide. "Uh..." He said, his face yellow.

"Sorry..." Katie said looking at the ground.

"No, no ith fine. I told you that you could." he said, his face still flushed yellow.

Katie looked up at him, her face bright red. "I know but..."

"Ith fine." He smiled. "Trutht me."

"If you say so..." She said softly, looking back toward the ground.

Sollux smiled. "Come on. The dance ith almotht over. Leth enjoy the retht okay?"

Katie nodded. "I want some more fruit so I'm going to go back to the fountain." She said softly, walking toward it.

Sollux nodded and watched her go.

Katie stood at the fountain nibbling at some fruit when a girl came up to her. "Did your date dump you or something?"

"No. I wanted some fruit so I came to get some." Katie responded. The girl smirked and walked over to Sollux.

"Well, aren't you handsome?" She smiled at him. "Want to dance?"

"Um..." he said softly, "I'm here with thomeone tho I don't think that would be acceptable."

"It's not like you're dating Katie." The girl said. "She's never had a boyfriend. Ever."

Sollux growled. He didn't like this chick. "Doeth it really matter?" he asked.

"Not really but that doesn't mean that you can't dance with me." The girl glared.

Katie sighed and walked over to them. "Veronica, leave Sollux alone. He doesn't want to dance with you."

Sollux moved closer to Katie. He didn't want to be in ANOTHER fight with people. He sighed. People really didn't like him here, and these people weren't nice to Katie at all. He didn't like it.

"Seriously Veronica. Just leave. He doesn't like you and neither do I. Stop bothering my friend." Katie said, feeling somewhat confident since Sollux was closer to her.

"Whatever." The girl flipped her hair as she walked off.

"Sorry Sollux... I didn't think she was going to come hit on you."

"Itth fine." he muttered, looking at her. "I jutht... Don't get it." he said, frowning. "Why do people treat your tho badly..."

"Everyone pretty much sees me as a freak because I'm actually not from here... When I first moved here I didn't understand anything about America... And they made fun of me because I had an accent and didn't understand what they were talking about..." Katie said.

"You're not from here?" he asked, tilting his head.

"No. I'm from France." She smiled. "I moved here when I was 6 so my accent has pretty much faded but I still talk with my parents in French. I'm honestly surprised that you didn't hear their accents."

"I... Don't really know..." he paused for a second. "OH." He wished he could smack his head right now. Karkat had gone to France and spoke a little bit of the language. It was all coming back to him now. "I thould have known." he said, sighing quietly. "KK went to Franthe a long time ago." he said, nodding his head a little. "Pardon my thtupididity."

"Really? I haven't been to France since I was 13. I went and visited my grandparents." Katie smiled. "It's fine. Most people don't realize that I'm French. Besides, I never told you my last name. It's Londres or London, in English."

"Ohhhh okay." he smiled. "That'th thtill really cool." he grinned.

"I'm glad that you find my being from France cool." She giggled. "I'm getting tired. Want to go?"

"Yeah." he smiled, yawning. "I'm ekthauthted." he said, rubbing his eyes a little bit.

"I wonder if Karkat is still awake." Katie sighed.

Karkat laid on the couch in a pair of boxers and Sollux's hoodie. He was bored now that it was just him and the pupating Carmine. He was watching one of his favorite movies. "I hope Sollux comes home soon. I'm bored..."

"Probably." He said, smiling. He thaid he would wait up for me." He gently took her hand and led her out of the gym. "I've had a lot of fun."

"Me too." Katie smiled. "Thanks Sollux."

Sollux helped her into the car, gently walking around on his own side, starting the car as he headed home. He pulled up across the street. "Want me to walk you to the door?" he asked.

"Sure." Katie smiled.

Sollux got out of the car, gently opening the door for her. "Mmmm." He hummed quietly as he gently took her up to the door. "Thank you for letting me go with you." He said, smiling.

"It was fun. I should really be the one thanking you. You put up with my grandparents strange requests..." She laughed. "Thanks to you, I had an awesome Senior Prom."

Sollux smiled and gently wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close. He pulled back for a moment, tilting her face up, putting a soft kiss on her lips.


	47. Chapter 47

Hey Guys!

Sorry that I forgot to update on Friday but I'm going to start only updating on Mondays. It's just a lot easier on me with my school/work schedule. I hope you guys understand!

Thanks,

Saphyre~

* * *

><p>Katie froze for a moment before kissing him back. Her heart felt like it was beating a million times a minute.<p>

He pulled back, keeping his face close. "Moirailth can be more than friendth if it geth to be that. If anything they are there for each other no matter what. I wanted you to have an amathing night, and hopefully I thuctheeded." he smiled.

She nodded, face red. Katie tried to speak but words seemed to escape her.

Sollux laughed a little bit. "You're tho fluthtered. Ith cute." he smiled and cupped her cheek with his hand. "What?" he asked, quirking his eyebrows.

"I... I uh... Never expected that to happen..." She said softly. "I..."

Sollux smiled. "Katie you're my moirail. Ith my job to make you happy." he said quietly.

"You're doing a very good job of that..." She laughed nervously.

"Aww." he smiled and stepped back. "Don't look tho nervouth." he said, smiling down at her.

"Weren't you nervous the first time you kissed Karkat?" Katie asked.

"Hmmm... Yeah." he said softly. "I wath now that you mention it." he smiled.

"Then shut up." Katie pouted.

"Aww..." he grinned and wrapped his arms around her again. "Don't pout."

"I know you don't feel exactly the same about me but that's what it's like. My crush just kissed me. I'm allowed to be nervous." She said softly, wrapping her arms around him. "I should probably go inside..."

"Yeah." He stepped back. "I'm glad you had a good time." he said, smiling as he moved to head back to the car.

"Sollux... Can I have one more kiss?" She asked softly, her fingers playing with some of the Toole from her dress.

Sollux turned around. "Yeah." He stepped forward, gently leaning down, placing another gentle kiss on her lips.

Katie smiled as she kissed him back. "Thanks..." She whispered as she pulled away and went back into her house.

Karkat was about to fall asleep but he wanted to be awake when Sollux got home. He let his mind wonder to earlier in the day when he had gotten to see how amazing his matesprit looked in a tux. Suddenly, he was wide awake, heat rushing through his body. "That fuckass better get home soon..." Karkat whimpered as he tried to keep the sheath to his bulge closed.

Sollux smiled, turning and getting in his car. He backed up and moved his car to his driveway. He got out and walked inside. "I'm home." he said, walking towards the living room.

Karkat grinned widely when he saw Sollux. "Come here. I want to kiss my Honey Bee."

Sollux walked over, straddling him as he pushed his lips against his, his tongue lashing out. He wanted Karkat. He wanted to be held and kissed and loved.

Karkat moaned into the kiss. "That tux needs to come off..." He whispered as he pulled away.

"It doeth." he said, moaning quietly as he pulled back. "Nnn take it off me KK."

Karkat slipped his fingers under the jacket pushing it off of Sollux's shoulders. "I was planning to."

Sollux grinned and shifted with the material, letting it slide off his shoulders. He used his powers to push it onto the chair across the room. "Don't want it to get dirty before I have to return it." he said, grinning.

Karkat nodded as he undid the tie. "That would be bad..." He grinned as the silky material slipped from around Sollux's neck. "I do like the sight of you in a tie though..."

"Mmmm I bet you do." he hummed, his smirk widening. He tossed the thin silky piece of fabric across the room. "Hehehehe."

"Pants or shirt first... Such a hard decision..." Karkat sighed, pulling the shirt out from under the pants.

Sollux laughed, raising his arms over his head as Karkat pulled the shirt off, gently revealing his skin that was flushed slightly.

Soon all the clothing was on the other side of the room. They embraced one another, their voices blissfully moaning in harmony with one another as they reached the height of pleasure. Together they curled up in each other's arms. They went up to their recuperacoon, gently climbing inside, curling up again, warm in each other's embrace.

Karkat's alarm clock went off, reminding him that he had to work. He groaned as he detached himself from Sollux and climbed out of the recuperacoon. He showered quickly and went downstairs to fix breakfast. "Fuck... Last night was amazing but gog my body hurts..." He whimpered as he worked on making the scrambled eggs. "I forgot to tell Sollux that I had to work today..."

Sollux stirred, hearing the noises from downstairs. He climbed out of the coon and rubbed his eyes. "Mmmm..." He stumbled downstairs. "KK?"

"Morning Honey Bee." He smiled softly, turning from the stove. "Did I wake you?"

"Nnnn... A little." he said, rubbing his eyes. "Mmm... Ith okay though."

"I'm sorry love." Karkat smiled, holding his arms out. "I just got done making breakfast. Scrambled eggs with bacon!"

Sollux smiled. "Ith okay." he stepped into them, gently holding himself close to Karkat. "Nnn... Thorry... Got a little thlime on you."

"I don't care." He leaned up kissing Sollux softly. "I really don't want to go to work today... I would much rather stay and cuddle with you all day."

"Awww... Yeah." he gently kissed him back. "Mmm..." He hummed. "You're really thweet to me. I love it. I love being with you and jutht thinking that I have the motht amathing matethprit in the world... It maketh me tho happy."

"You kissed her didn't you?" Karkat laughed. "You're such a suck up!"

Sollux frowned. "Yeah..." he said softly. "I'm thorry..."

"It's fine. I told you that you could." Karkat smiled. "But you returned so it doesn't bother me." 'I wonder if she noticed your tongue...'

"I don't think the did." he replied back. He shrugged. He kissed him again, smiling. "I love you."

"I love you too, Honey Bee. So... Interrogation time. Who's better?" He smirked.

"W-Wha?" he blinked and looked startled. "What do you mean?"

"Who's better at kissing?" Karkat smiled.

"You are." he smiled shyly, feeling bashful. "Becauthe you have amathing lipth." he grinned.

"Good." Karkat kissed him again. "I love you and that adorable lisp of yours"

"Awww..." He laughed.

"I have to go get ready for work and pop a couple pain pills..." He laughed, kissing him again. "I love you."

"Okay." He said, frowning. He sat down and started eating.

Karkat went up to their room and changed into his uniform before going to the bathroom and grabbing a couple ibuprofen. He took the pills with a splash of water from the sink and went back downstairs, sitting down and eating breakfast with Sollux. "I like when we get the chance to have breakfast together... It's gonna be more difficult though once you start going to school..."

"Yeah if that ever happenth." he said, stuffing a fork full of egg in his mouth.

"You got the letter this morning..." Karkat smiled.

"Huh?" he tilted his head. He had applied several months ago. He didn't really expect to get in.

"Sorry that I opened it but I had to know!" Karkat smiled, getting up and grabbing the giant envelope from the counter. "See for yourself."

Sollux looked at the letter. "Holy thit..." he mumbled, reading through it. He had gotten accepted to university in the city. "Oh my gog..." he ran a hand through his hair. "Wow..."

Karkat wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "I told you that you would make it." He smiled. "You should listen to me."

"Mmmm~" He leaned against him. "Thtill... That meanth a lot more work on my part."

"Work? You won't even have to think through your classes!" Karkat laughed. "It's all going to be computer based since it's a tech school."

"Oh yeah." he laughed. "Ehehehehe."

"Too bad... Alone time will be even harder to come by..." Karkat smirked as his phone rang. "Gam's driver is here to take me to work. I love you and I'll be back around 5." He kissed Sollux's cheek before grabbing his jacket and messenger bag, heading out the door.

Sollux sighed and nodded. "Okay. Later." he frowned before getting up and going to go take a shower and pull clothing on. "Ith boring... Without him here..."

Katie couldn't stop smiling as she thought about the fact that Sollux had kissed her. She lay on her bed, her hands over her eyes as she relived it over and over again in her mind. "Yay!" She smiled.

Sollux flopped on his bed, looking up at the cocoon. It was getting bigger and bigger every day.

He picked up his phone, texting Katie. "hey iim bored wanna come over?"

Katie about fell off her bed when her phone went off. "Sure! : )"

Sollux sighed and waited. He got up and moved downstairs, plopping himself on the couch. "Blah."

Katie hurriedly got dressed and ran downstairs.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Her mother asked.

"Sollux invited me over!" Katie smiled. "I'll be back later!" She ran across the street stopping in front of the door. She took a few seconds to catch her breath before knocking loudly.

"Come in!" Sollux shouted, not wanting to move from the couch. "Blah..." he muttered.

Katie opened the door and walked inside. "Hey Sollux." She smiled when she walked into the living room. "You look absolutely exhausted..."

"Meh." He said, looking over at her. "I'm fine." he stretched his arms up above his head, yawning. "I'll be fine rather."

"That's good." She smiled. "Did you have fun last night? You have hickies all along your collarbone..."

"Oh..." he blushed. "Y-Yeah!" he looked away, hiding his neck with his hands. "Yup, yup."

Katie laughed. "You're adorable!"

"Am not." he laughed, smirking.

Katie sat down on the ground by Sollux's face. "Doesn't Karkat tell you that you're adorable? If he doesn't then I'm going to have to have a serious talk with him." She laughed. "Besides, I only kiss cute guys."

"Oh he doeth." He grinned. "He tellth me all the time." he grinned widely.

"Aw... That takes away my fun of telling you all the time!" She smirked. "Guess it can't be helped..."

"Nope." he smiled, his cheeks yellow. "He tellth me all thorth of thingth." he said, smiling.

Katie smiled and started to play with Sollux's hair. "I really do think you're adorable." She said softly, before kissing his shoulder. "I'm sorry if that's weird but I can't really help it..."

Sollux shivered. "Ith fine." he said, his eyes half closing. "Mmmm..."

Katie smirked, seeing Sollux's reaction. She kissed a little closer to his neck, leaning forward to get better access as her fingers continued to twirl his hair.

Sollux felt his breath hitch. He hesitated, whimpering. "A-Ah..." he breathed out, his hands shaking.

She continued to trail kisses up his shoulder until she got to the base of his neck. She smiled as she pulled away since she was half on top of him. "Sorry..."

Sollux let out a soft moan. "N-Nnn..." he breathed out. "W-Wh..."

Katie looked down at him, slightly confused. "Sollux..."

Sollux whimpered. "You thtopped."

"Yeah... Did you not want me to?" She asked confused.


	48. Chapter 48

"N-No." He breathed.

"Okay..." She leaned down kissing him on the lips. "Is that okay or should I be kissing your neck?"

Why was he reacting like this? He shivered. "Don't care." he whispered, his eyes drooping closed. "Don't care... Jutht... Don't thtop."

Katie tucked her hair behind her ears before leaning down and kissing Sollux's neck again. 'I don't know why he's okay with this but what the hell! Let's indulge a little!'

He let out a soft moan, leaning his neck back. Why was he reacting this way? He shivered, his hands moving onto his stomach.

Katie decided that since Sollux was reacting this way that it would be a good idea to brush her tongue against his neck. She had never done anything like this but it happened in the anime she watched...

He whimpered. "O-Oh gog..." he gasped, his whole body shaking now.

Katie pulled back. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked hesitantly.

"N-No." He said quietly. "Nothing wrong." he breathed quietly, his hands gently moving to her shoulders. "You're new at thith huh..."

Katie nodded. "That obvious, huh..."

"No..." He smiled. "You know how to uthe your mouth." he blushed. He felt his bulge trying to sneak out. "Gahh..." he shifted a little. "Fuck."

"Are you okay?" She asked. "I should stop..."

"I'm fine." He said, whimpering quietly. "I'll be okay."

"Sollux... We should stop..." Katie said softly. "Karkat won't be happy that I did that..."

Sollux shook his head. "You are my moirail. Everything can be anyway... Ath long ath there ithnt any... You know."

Katie leaned close to him, kissing him softly. "Do you want to...? Continue?" She asked softly.

Sollux gently kissed her back. "Y-Yeth."

They didn't separate for a few minutes until Katie felt something rubbing against her arm. She pulled back, her eyes wide. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean... I should go..."

Sollux panicked. "Y-Yeah..." He pulled his legs to his chest, cringing slightly.

"I'm so sorry." She said as she walked toward the door. That could've been bad... Wait... It was bad...

Sollux didn't say anything. He got up and walked upstairs, going into the bathroom. He cringed. His body retracted itself in fear. He walked into his bedroom, using his powers to lock the door once Katie had left. What had he done? He wrapped himself in his blanket and sobbed hysterically before falling asleep.

Few hours later, Karkat had gotten off work and had been taken home. He walked inside. "Why are the lights off?" He asked as he walked toward the stairs. "Sollux?"

Sollux had woken up a little bit ago from a horrible dream. He mumbled quietly and stayed huddled in his blanket, not hearing the door open downstairs.

Karkat went upstairs to their bedroom. "Oh... There you are Honey Bee." He smiled softly. "You weren't downstairs and the lights were off... I was worried..." He went and sat on the bed, wrapping his arms around Sollux. "How was your day?"

Sollux said nothing. He shivered and hid his face away from Karkat's. He couldn't tell him. His mind was racing. He couldn't say. He couldn't even utter a noise. He felt ashamed...

"Baby... Are you okay?" Karkat asked, nuzzling his face in Sollux's hair. "Whatever it is, I love you."

Sollux shook his head. No. He wouldn't say. He whimpered a soft response, unable to form words.

Karkat didn't know what to do. Why was Sollux being so quiet and acting like a kicked puppy. "I love you." He whispered kissing the side of Sollux's head. "I'm going to go make dinner." He squeezed Sollux a little. "I'll be back..."

Sollux nodded. He didn't even feel like he could eat. His stomach was turning knots. He couldn't tell him. He couldn't. When Karkat left, he grabbed his phone, calling Feferi.

"Shello?" Feferi said into the phone.

"FF, I've done thomething horrible... H-how do I fix it?" he asked, his voice quivering.

"What did you do?" She asked. "Is Karkat okay?"

"I... I can't thay." he said softly. "I... I jutht really fucked up." he started to cry.

"Maybe if you do something really romantic for him? Like take him on a fancy date!" She smiled. "I'm sorry but it's kinda hard to kelp when I don't know what happened..."

"I... I really can't thay..." he said. "I.. I jutht know heth going to kill me. I fucked up tho bad..." he sobbed, his voice soft and hushed. "I'm thorry..."

"Does he know?" Feferi asked, her voice showing her concern. "Have you told Karkat?"

"N-No..." he said. "I'm too thcared to..."

"I'm sure it'll be fine if you talk to him about it..." She said softly. "I think you should tell him."

"You don't underthtand Feferi... He will kill me..." he sniffed, wiping his eyes on the blanket.

"No he won't. He loves you." She tried to smile. "Talk to him."

Sollux nodded and said goodbye before hanging up the phone. He shook. He felt sick.

Karkat stood at the sink. He didn't know what to. "Why won't he talk to me?"

Sollux came downstairs, his hands shaking slightly. He sat in the living room.

Karkat thought he heard movement coming from the living room. He went into the living room. "Hey... Anything special you want for dinner?" He asked, trying not to seem worried about Sollux's behavior.

He shook his head gently. "No..." he whispered, his voice soft and shaky. He curled up on the couch.

Karkat went over to him. "Baby... What's wrong? Please... Talk to me..." He whispered sitting down on the couch beside him.

"I..." he looked down at his hands, taking a deep breath. "I fucked up."

"What do you mean?" He asked, rubbing Sollux's arms. "I'm confused..."

"I'm tho thorry...I fucked up...bad." he started crying. "I'm tho thorry..."

"What happened?" Karkat asked. "Sollux..."

He couldn't bring himself to look at him. He cringed and mumbled quietly. "I made out with her..."

"You... Made out with... Katie?" Karkat asked, his worry transforming into fear. "Um... Okay..."

Sollux sobbed. "I'm thorry... I'm thorry I'm thorry..."

'He made out with her... Not a big deal unless...' "It turned you on..." Karkat whispered, his body freezing.


	49. Chapter 49

Sollux nodded slowly. "You hate me..." he whispered. "I'm thorry... I'm... I'm tho thorry..."

"I don't hate you... I just... Why would you?..." He started to panic. "Do I not make you happy?"

Sollux let the tears run. "I... I... I don't know!" he said, his voice getting a little louder. "I jutht don't."

Karkat didn't know what to say or do. "I don't make you happy..." He whimpered. "But I... I try so hard..."

"No... You do KK you do." he looked up at him, his eyes begging, pleading. "Pleathe... Lithen to me... I... I don't know whath wrong with me." he sniffed, reaching out for Karkat's hand.

"But you keep doing this! First James and now this... There has to be something that I'm not doing..." He pulled his knees to his chest.

Sollux felt a pain go through him. "KK... Pleathe... No, no lithen to me." he felt desperate.

"Then why? Why can't you just be mine?" He looked at Sollux, purple tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. "Why am I not good enough?"

Sollux had made him cry. His eyes went wide. "KK no... Don't cry... Plethe don't cry." he moved trying to reach out for him.

Karkat pulled away. "I love you... Why can't that be good enough? Why Sollux?"

Sollux stared at him. "KK... I... I don't know." he said, his voice getting a little louder than usual. "I don't know... I don't know, I don't know I don't know." he held the sides of his head. "I don't know whath wrong with me, KK... Pleathe... Pleathe I'm tho thorry..."

Karkat tucked himself into a ball. 'What can I do to make you only want me?' He thought.

Sollux didn't know what to do. Every fiber of his being was shaking. Karkat wouldn't look at him. He wouldn't touch him. He wouldn't even speak to him. "KK... I..." He stood up. "I'm thorry..." He walked upstairs, grabbing a change of clothing, his cell phone and charger, and shoving them both into a bag.

"Sollux... Where are you going? Please don't leave me!" Karkat cried. "Please! I'll do better! I promise just don't leave me!"

Sollux felt his heart break. "KK... I'm a horrible perthon." he said as he walked back down the stairs, bag and keys in hand. He had thrown on one of Karkat's shirts and some shoes. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm going… Thomewhere." he said, his voice quiet. "I'll be back tomorrow." he walked towards the door.

"Baby... Don't... Please..." Karkat whimpered, trying to wrap his arms around Sollux. "I'm sorry..." He followed him out the door. "Baby... Please..."

Sollux turned to him, his eyes sad. "KK I fucked up..." he said, his voice shaky. "I'm thorry..." he sniffed and rubbed at them. "I won't go far."

Karkat could do nothing as he watched Sollux get into his car and pull out of the driveway as purple tears streamed down his cheeks. He watched the car until he couldn't see it anymore before running back into the house and into their room, changing into Sollux's clothes and wrapping himself in the bee blanket that he had gotten for Sollux. He cried and shook until his body literally couldn't do it anymore and ended up passing out.

Sollux drove to Feferi and Eridan's place. When he got there he was an emotional mess.

Eridan helped him inside, letting him cry into his shoulder, gently petting his hair and papping his back.

Sollux curled up on the couch with Karkat's plushy. He sniffled and had fallen asleep rather quickly.

Eridan sighed and rubbed his back, trying to help him sleep. Feferi had gone into work and Addison was sleeping in the little pool set up in the bedroom. It was the least he could do for his friend.

Karkat woke up a couple hours later, his head in pain as he sat up in the bed. His first thought was to call Gamzee and that's what he did. Gamzee however wasn't the one to answer, Tavros did.

Tavros spoke into the phone, his voice soft. "Hello?" he asked.

"Tavros... I think Sollux wants to leave me..." He whispered. "I'm... I don't make him happy anymore..."

"W-What?" he gasped. "How can that be? That's really not cool..." he frowned. "What happened?"

"He made out with his moirail Katie... And he... It turned him on... I don't know if they did anything but..." Karkat sobbed. "I don't why I can't make him happy... What do I do? How can I make him love me again?"

"I..." he frowned. "Wow..." he blushed. "That's really uh bad... On his part. Karkat, don't cry." he frowned. "I think you do make him happy... Maybe he's just frustrated?" he tilted his head.

"I don't think that's it... He's gotten laid the last two nights and still made out with Katie..." Karkat said. "I'm not good enough for him... I don't please him..."

"Karkat don't think that..." he frowned, sighing. "I'm sure it's probably something else... Do you want me and Gamzee to come over?" he frowned. "We can talk to Sollux if you want..."

"He's not here... He left..." He whimpered. "I... I don't know where he went..."

"Oh no... Did you text him?" he frowned. "Or call him? He might answer."

"He won't... I've tried... His phone is upstairs... I think…" Karkat said softly. "He's going to leave me..." Karkat's tears started to fall even harder. "I don't want to lose him.

"Karkat..." he frowned. He didn't know how to help his friend, let alone make him stop crying. "Do... Do you want to talk to Gamzee? I think he's in a meeting, but if his moirail is in danger I can get him for you..." he whispered, biting his lip.

"No... He would probably kill Sollux..." Karkat whimpered. "I just want him to come back..."

"Perhaps call around? I could call some people..." he frowned. "Like... Friends of ours and see if he's with them..."

"Thanks Tav..." Karkat said softly. "I just want to know if he's going to come home..."

Tavros smiled. "I know." he said. "I know he will. I have a feeling he will. Try calling Nepeta and Eridan. I'll call Aradia and Kanaya. Okay?"

"Okay..." Karkat said softly. "Let me know what you find out..."

Tavros nodded. "Alright. I'll text you." He called Aradia with no luck. He wasn't there. He called Kanaya and he wasn't there either. "nO SUCH LUCK THERE, tRY ERIDAN," he texted Karkat.

Karkat finally stopped crying long enough to call Eridan. "Eridan..."

"Yes? Kar, is that you?" he moved away from Sollux on the couch, walking into the kitchen. "Hey... Tavv texted me sayin you wwere concerned. Sol is here. He's alsleep on the couch right noww." he frowned. "He told me wwhat happened. He said he's gonna be home tomorroww."

"Okay... When he wakes up, can you tell him that I love him?" Karkat asked, sniffling.

"I wwiill. Don't wworry." He smiled weakly. "He still lovves you too." he said. "He wwouldn't stop talkin about you and howw sorry he is."

"Really? He's not going to leave me?"

"No. He just wwanted to get awway." he said, frowning. "He is really, really upset. He passed out on me. He wwas cryin so hard and coughing... I felt horrible for him. Once he calmed a little he wwas passed out completely."

"Eridan... Do you think I make him happy?" Karkat asked, pulling the blanket further around himself.

"I think you do. I can ask him more of wwhats goin on wwhen he wwakes up." he frowned. "I hope this wwhole thing doesn't mess wwith wwhat you two havve." he sighed. "I'm glad he came here and didn't go elsewwhere. I think he's just really confused."

"Thanks... I'm going to go to bed... I have class tomorrow..." He whispered. "Make sure he eats... He doesn't eat a lot when he's upset..."

"I wwill." He smiled a little, letting out a sigh. "Fef wwill be home soon. Wwe wwill make him somefin to eat wwhen he wwakes up."

"Thanks..." Karkat said a little louder. "This means a lot to me..."

"You're evver so wwelcome, Kar. Dont mention it." he smiled. "You get some good rest okay?"

"I'll try..." Karkat said. "Tell Feferi I said hi."

"Wwill do." he smiled and hung up the phone, sighing quietly. He walked back into the living room, Sollux still sleeping. "You poor thing..." he whispered, sitting down on the edge of the couch, gently rubbing his back. "Get lots of rest, Sol." he said, papping his head, letting him sleep.

Karkat tried to sleep but he just couldn't get the thought of Sollux leaving him out of his head. The thought terrified him. Without realizing it, it was time for him to wake up and get ready for school. He slowly crawled off the bed and made his way downstairs. He barely finished the toast that he had made for himself before getting dressed into a pair of his jeans and one of Sollux's shirts.

The ride to Karkat's house was quiet. Gamzee was with him, resting against him slightly as the driver took them to Karkat's house. He shivered. He didn't tell Gamzee what happened. He was afraid for Sollux. It was obvious though that Sollux wasn't there when they pulled into the drive way.

Karkat walked out to the car after he got the message. "Morning guys..."

"Hey... What happened best friend?" Gamzee asked.

"Sollux had a meeting that he had to go to for school for the fall. He'll be back later." Karkat smiled.

Tavros felt his breath hitch in his chest a little bit. He swallowed and watched them.

Gamzee knew something was up by the way that Karkat and Tavros were acting. "Oh okay..." Karkat got in the car. He was silent the entire way to school.

Tavros sighed and leaned against Gamzee. "Mmm... I'm cold." he said quivering as he pulled his jacket around him tighter.

Gamzee shifted, putting his arm around Tavros. "Better Tav?"

Tavros nodded. "Much." he smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

Gamzee turned at the last second, making Tavros kiss his lips. He smiled into the kiss.

Tavros blushed dark, pulling back a moment. "Mmm~" he smiled and looked down. "Aww..."

"I love you Tav." He smiled.

* * *

><p>Eridan had left a note for Feferi since he had to be at work early.<p>

Sollux shifted, having slept all night on the couch. He sat up, rubbing his eyes.

Feferi nodded as she read the note. "Oh... Morning Sollux. I am to deliver a message from Karkat. He wants you to know that he loves you." She smiled. "He also really wants you to come home."

Sollux nodded. "I know..." he said, rubbing his arms gently. "Heth at thcool though." he whispered.

"I don't think he will be for long... Knowing him, he stayed up all night worrying about you." Feferi said softly. "I wouldn't be surprised if we got a call saying he passed out. It used to happen every time you went into your computer daze. He would pass out in the middle of class from lack of sleep..."

Sollux frowned and nodded. "I gueth..." he sighed softly. "I'll go home once I wake up a little more." he said, letting out a shaky sigh.

"The note says that I need to make you eat... How about some toast and orange juice?" Feferi smiled.

"Alright." He stood up from the couch, shuffling into the living room. "Thankth FF..." he said, sitting down at the table. "I didn't eat latht night. If I don't eat now KK will be really pithed..."

"Not a problem Sollux!" She smiled as she went to go make their breakfast.

Sollux sighed and watched her. "I bet Eri told you what happened." he said, looking down at his hands. "I'm tho fucking thtupid."

"Actually... I don't know what happened. He hasn't told me anything besides that you were here all night and that Karkat called crying." Feferi admitted. "I really hope you two can work things out."

Sollux nodded. "Yeah." he said, letting out a sigh. He didn't want to talk about it. "Eridan knowth it all..." he said, sighing quietly. Sollux ate, thanked Feferi and headed home. He sighed once he got home. Karkat wasn't there. He walked upstairs, getting in the shower.

* * *

><p>Karkat got to class and he was having a hard time staying awake. Finally, his first class ended and he was off to techniques.<p>

"Today we are doing knife techniques and practicing how to chop vegetables into different consistencies." Karkat's teacher announced to the class. Karkat stood at his counter with Michael. "Did you have a rough night with Sollux?" Michael joked.

"No... I didn't sleep... At all..." Karkat said softly. "And I'm starting to feel..." The world went black.

Michael caught him, grabbing his arm and grabbing the knife that he had been holding. He hauled Karkat out into the hall, followed by several other students and the teacher.

"Check his phone to see if there is someone we should call..." The teacher said.

"I'll call Sollux and Gamzee. Those are the two who take care of him..." Michael said softly.

Gamzee got a call on his phone in the middle of his art history class. He got up and walked out of the room before answering it. "Hello?"

"Hey, This is Michael, one of Karkat's friends. He just passed out here in the hallway. We aren't sure what to do..."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Gamzee said, hanging up the phone. He walked back and grabbed his stuff from his desk before walking back out of the classroom. It didn't take Gamzee long to get to the cooking school. "Where is he?" He asked when he got into the building that Karkat's class was in.

"Room 13A." Michael said. "We've got him out in the hallway."

"Thanks." Gamzee said. "I'm going to try to call Sollux again." He pulled out his phone and dialed the number. "You better pick up, motherfucker."

The phone went to voicemail. Sollux dried his hair carefully, stepping out of the bathroom, hearing the last few rings of his phone. He hurried in, seeing a missed call from Gamzee. His heart nearly stopped. "F-fuck..."

Gamzee called again after he saw that Karkat wasn't injured, just passed out. "Fucking answer Sollux!"

Sollux quickly answered the phone. "Y-Yeah?" his voice quivered. "G-Gamthee? W-Whath up?"

"Karkat passed out at school." He said. "He said you were at a meeting and we both know that he sucks at lying. What. The. Fuck. Happened?"

Sollux couldn't form words. He gaped at the phone, making soft noises. "I... I..." He swallowed. "I fucked up..."

"No shit. I'm going to bring him home so you better be outside when I get there." Gamzee growled. "Since it's your fault that he passed out, you're going to be the one taking care of him." He hung up the phone and picked Karkat up, taking him to the car.

Sollux looked at his phone, his hands shaking. "G-Gam ith going to fucking kill me." he felt tears start down his cheeks as he anxiously paced around the house. "Fuck... Fuck fuck fuck fuck..."

About half an hour, Gamzee pulled his car into their drive way.

Sollux walked outside, his feet hitting the concrete steps. He whimpered, watching Gamzee get out of the car.

"Get him out of the car and take him inside." Gamzee instructed. "You really had to have fucked up for Karkat to pass out again. He hasn't done this in years."

Sollux quickly ran over to the car, opening it up. He gently picked up Karkat, hurrying back inside. He set him down on the couch, grabbing a pillow to put under his head. He silently prayed that Gamzee wasn't coming in.

Gamzee stood in the door way. "I want to make sure you can take care of him."

Sollux looked over at him. "The only thing I can do is wait until he waketh up." he felt his heart rushing. He felt panicked.

"I know but he's feverish. You need to make him an ice pack." Gamzee said. "He'll also need something with lots of sugar when he wakes up."

Sollux hurried into the kitchen, grabbing the ice pack from in the fridge. He would find something for him to eat in a moment. Gamzee was making him panic. It showed on his face. He panted quietly, gently holding his chest as he put the icepack over Karkat's forehead.

"Okay. If you need anything, call me." Gamzee said, walking back out to his car. "Don't be surprised if he starts screaming..."

Sollux cringed. "W-What?" he looked after him, his eyes wide. Before he got an answer, Gamzee had driven off. Sollux shut the door, walking back over to Karkat.

Karkat's mind was filled with images of Sollux telling him that he was leaving as he dreamed. He started to scream as he jolted upright. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Sollux swore he jumped about ten feet in the air if that was possible. He turned around and gently touched Karkat's face. "KK... KK... Thhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

"Sollux... You're here..." Karkat looked at him, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Baby, I'm so sorry." He shifted so he could wrap his arms around Sollux. "I love you so much."

Sollux shifted, wrapping his arms tightly around Karkat. "KK..." He felt the tears start. "KK I'm tho thorry... Oh gog... I don't detherve you... You're tho forgiving."

Karkat couldn't speak. He was so happy to see that Sollux had returned. 'I love you. I love you so much Sollux.'

Sollux held him close, sobbing quietly. He shifted, moving so he could lay against Karkat. "KK..." he whispered, his voice soft and quivering. "I'm thorry..." He rested his head against Karkat's chest. "I'm tho thorry..."

Karkat ran his fingers through Sollux's hair, ecstatic that he could still do this. "I love you. I love you so much Sollux." He whispered. "I'll work even harder to make you happy... I'll do whatever it takes just please don't leave..."

"I'm not going to leave." He said, curling up with him. "I jutht... Don't know... Whath wrong with me." he said softly, gently rubbing his fingers over the creases in Karkat's shirt.

"Please stop saying that's there's something wrong with you..." Karkat whimpered. "This is all my fault..."

"No ith not." he said, gripping his shirt gently. "Trutht me for onthe..." he sighed and nuzzled him. "At leatht on thith..."

Karkat nodded but his mind still told him that the whole situation was his fault.

Sollux sighed quietly, gently holding onto him.

Karkat fell asleep, his mind a mix of complete ecstasy to have Sollux back and sheer exhaustion from having not slept. Sollux had returned and things were going to be okay.

Sollux gently carried Karkat upstairs. He stripped both of them and slid Karkat into the recuperacoon, sliding the mask over his face. He did the same, curling up around him, holding him close.

Karkat didn't sleep for long. He could feel the warm sopor around him but he could also feel what he hoped were Sollux's arms around him. Slowly, he brought his head above the sopor slime and sighed with relief when he saw Sollux's horns just barely sticking out of the green gunk. "Oh thank gog..."

Sollux muttered something quietly into the mask, moving closer to Karkat. He was so warm.

Karkat put the mask back on, sinking back into the slime. He wasn't tired but he didn't care. Sollux was home and in his arms and that was all that mattered.

Sollux sighed. He hadn't really slept well. He curled up in Karkat's arms, whimpering.

"Sollux... Are you hungry?" Karkat asked. He was worried that Sollux hadn't eaten because he was upset. "I love you."

He poked his head up, whimpering. "Huh?" He blinked. "I ate a little." he said, wiping slime out of his eyes.

Karkat nodded, leaning over and kissing Sollux's nose. "I love you."

"I love you too." he said, wrapping his arms around him. "I'm thorry KK." he said quietly.

"I'm so happy that you coming back wasn't a dream..." He whispered, wrapping his arms around Sollux. "I missed you so much..."

Sollux blushed and kissed against his neck. "I know..." he said softly. "I'm thorry... I thould have told you I went to Eridan'th."

"I called around last night and found out. Tavros helped..." Karkat said softly, leaning against Sollux. "I was so scared..."

"I know." he sniffled a little, pushing his face into his neck. "I know..."

"I love you so much." Karkat whimpered, slipping his fingers in Sollux's hair. "I love you."

"I love you." he whispered, his eyes drooping shut as he fell asleep against Karkat's chest.

Karkat smiled as Sollux slept before sinking back into the sopor slime himself. The next time he woke up, his stomach growled at him, furious for having not eaten anything more than a piece of toast. He climbed out of the recuperacoon and showered quickly before going downstairs to make something to eat.

Sollux curled up at the bottom of the recuperacoon. Before long his stomach woke him up. He crawled out of the coon, sighing as he went to shower off.

Karkat smiled when he heard the shower turn on. 'Morning love.' He giggled as he thought it. 'How did you sleep?'

Sollux walked downstairs, whimpering quietly, rubbing his arms. "Mmmm..." He had pulled on a pair of pj pants. "How long did we thleep?"

"I don't know... I don't even know what time I passed out..." Karkat said softly. "I just know it was during techniques..."

"Mmm... Leth get thome food and do thomething." he sat down at the table. "Need any help?"

"Not really but I won't stop you from giving me kisses." Karkat smiled at Sollux.

Sollux got up and walked over, gently touching his hips as he pulled him into a kiss. "Mmmmmm..." he hummed quietly.

"Hehe." Karkat giggled, wrapping his arms around Sollux.

Sollux kissed him back gently, rubbing his back. He missed this. He missed the closeness.

Karkat smiled into the kiss. 'I missed this.'

Sollux pulled back, smiling sweetly as he did so. "Feel better?" he asked,

He nodded, leaning against him. "Much better and all because I have my Honey Bee!"

Sollux knew he could be at ease around Karkat, but after what happened, his hands shook and he felt nervous around him. He didn't want to mess up again. He didn't want Karkat to leave.

"Bee... What's wrong? You're shaking. You need to eat." Karkat pulled away, grabbing the bowl of oatmeal that he had made. "It doesn't have a lot of honey in it but you need to eat..."

Sollux gently took it, "I'll be okay." he said, frowning. "Thank you.." He took it to the table.

"I just want to make sure you are okay..." Karkat whimpered. "You just came back..."

"I'm fine." he said, taking a bite of the oatmeal. "I... I don't want to fuck up again." he admitted.

"How did you fuck up?" Karkat asked. "I know you kissed her but that's my fault..."

"KK none of ith your fault." he said, frowning. "Ith mine."

"Let's not think of that." He said softly, kissing Sollux's cheek. "You're home and that's all that matters."

Sollux nodded, leaning against him. Karkat seemed... Almost too happy to have him home. He felt scared. He wanted everything to be okay.

"My Honey Bee." He smiled as he snuggled into Sollux's neck. "All mine."

Sollux felt a shiver run through him. "Mmmm..." he hummed. "I love you."

"I love you more." Karkat smiled. "I want to cuddle some more..."

Sollux nodded. He ate the rest of the oatmeal before rinsing the dish and setting it in the sink. "Then go ahead and eat and we will." he smiled a little bit.

"I'm not really hungry." He said softly, walking over to Sollux. "I did eat some of the oatmeal though."

Sollux nodded. "Let'th go back upstairth then."

Karkat nodded. "Would you carry me? I know that's weird to ask but I like it when you do..."

Sollux nodded, using his powers as much as he could to help him as he gently carried Karkat up the stairs.

"I love you." He whispered into Sollux's ear. "I love you so much Honey Bee."

Sollux carried him upstairs and gently set him down. Everything hurt. Sleeping on the couch had done some damage, he thought. "I love you too." he said, smiling as he stepped into the recuperacoon.

Karkat stripped himself of his clothes and followed Sollux into the recuperacoon. He fell asleep quickly.

Sollux curled up around him, holding him close. He wanted nothing more than to stay like this for a long, long time. He drifted off into sleep.

* * *

><p>Tavros laid on his back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Gamzee was in another meeting. He sighed softly and counted the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling that the Subjugglators had helped him put up around their room. He had made some paper stars and had hung them around too.<p>

"I fucking know that Moon Rise is coming but I'm not okay with you going around and killing people. Everyone is going to the island!" Gamzee yelled.

"Then what do you expect us to do Grand Highblood? We can't control our actions." Kairin said softly.

"I'll fucking figure something out. I'm going back to my room now and I don't want to be bothered." Gamzee glared at the Subjugglators as he stood and walked out of the room. He smiled when he saw the door to his bedroom because on the other side of that door was his miracle, his Tavros. "Tav. This sucks..." He groaned as he flopped down on the bed beside his matesprit. "What do I do?"

"About what, Gamzee?" he looked over at him, curling up into him. "Mmm... You smell good."

"I can't figure out how to keep my Subjugglators from killing anyone during Moon Rise... I don't want them to kill anyone." Gamzee said softly. "I can't think of any substitutes or anything like that..."

Tavros frowned. "Uh..." he blinked and furrowed his eyebrows. "I... I don't know." he said, looking at him. "Would dummies work?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Maybe... But there is the issue of painting..." Gamzee sighed. "They're used to painting with blood..."

"Hmmm..." he frowned. "I don't know about that then..." he said, "Different colored paint?"

"That's fucking genius Tav!" Gamzee smiled, hugging him. "I have another meeting later anyway so I'll bring it up then."

Tavros smiled. "Aww... Yay..."

"I love you so much Tav!" Gamzee pulled him close.

"Aww I love you too." He said, smiling. "Sooo much." He nuzzled his face into Gamzee's chest.

"Want to nap? I have a few hours before the next meeting."

"Sure!" He smiled, stretching his arms up over his head, curling them around Gamzee's back.

Gamzee smiled as he curled up against Tavros. "Sweet dreams Tav."

Tavros fell asleep quickly, his breathing soft against Gamzee's chest.

* * *

><p>Days passed and Karkat could tell that Sollux was getting cabin fever, whatever the hell that was. "Baby... Why don't we do something this weekend?" Karkat asked, as he stood at the stove with Sollux's arms around his waist. "I think it would be fun."<p>

Sollux thought about it. "Yeah." he said, smiling a little bit. "That thoundth like fun."

"Why don't you plan it?" He smiled, turning in Sollux's arms. "It could be a date!"

Sollux blushed. "I can try my betht" he said,

"I'm sure whatever you come up with will be awesome." Karkat smiled, wrapping his arms around Sollux.

Sollux blushed and nodded. He would try his best. He would try and make sure he could do whatever it was to make Karkat happy.

Karkat kissed his cheek gently and went into the kitchen to clean up. "I have to be at work in about an hour..." He sighed. "I really don't want to go in today..."

"I'll be here." he said, frowning. "I'll come up with thomething okay?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Baby... Why don't you ever leave the house anymore? It worries me." Karkat asked, walking over to him. "I know you haven't been talking to Katie..."

"I'm afraid that I'll do thomething bad." he said, looking at him. "Tho I thtay inthide."

"Oh..." He whispered, looking at the ground. No matter how many times Sollux told him that it wasn't his fault, Karkat still thought it was because of his inability to please Sollux.

"Ith fine though." he said, smiling a little bit. "Ith all good. I'll be inthide playing video gameth." he smiled.

"I don't want you to be lonely..." He whimpered. "I feel like I'm hurting you..."

"You're not." He looked at him and wrapped his arms around him tightly. "KK... I'm fine."

"I love you..." Karkat said softly. "I have to go get ready for work now..."

Sollux nodded. "Alright." He said quietly, sighing. He decided he would go on a walk today. A nice walk. It was warm enough out that he didn't need a jacket, and he figured it would be nice to... At least get out of the house.

Karkat got the message from Gamzee. "I love you. I'll be back around 5." He smiled, kissing Sollux.

Sollux nodded and watched him go. He sighed quietly. He was sure Gamzee hated him. He locked the door when Karkat left, going upstairs to get ready.

Gamzee smiled when Karkat got into the bus. "Hey Karbro! How are things?"

"Fine. He won't leave the house... It worries me." Karkat confessed to his moirail. "I think you really scared him..."

Tavros frowned. "Gamzee can have that effect on people I think." he said. "But he's a really nice guy, people just have to give him a chance."

"Well, Sollux knows that but he is petrified that he's going to do something wrong when this whole thing is my fault. I feel horrible about it." He sighed softly.

"I don't see why he would want anyone else when you love him so much Karkat." Gamzee growled.

Tavros put a hand on Gamzee's shoulder. "Sollux is different than us remember?" he frowned. "He is almost like two separate people."

"He is bipolar..." Karkat said softly. "It's just part of who he is."

"It's not fucking good enough. He keeps hurting you and I'm not okay with that." Gamzee growled. "It's not right for him to just keep doing this shit to you."

Tavros frowned and looked at Gamzee. There wasn't anything he could do. He let out a soft sigh and leaned against him instead.

"I would never do anything like that to you Tav." He said softly, kissing the top of Tavros' head. "I love you so much that I don't think of others like that."

"He does love me..." Karkat said softly. "I know he does."

Tavros nodded. "I know he loves you, Karkat." he said, smiling a little bit. "He just... Has a strange way of expressing it."

"Yeah..." He sighed softly as they pulled into the restaurant parking lot. "Thanks you guys."

Karkat walked into the building, happy to feel the air conditioning. He sighed as he put his apron on and washed his hands. It was going to be a long day...

* * *

><p>Sollux dressed and headed outside. He walked down the street towards the end of the street. A bunch of kids were out playing. He walked by them, hearing whispers.<p>

As Sollux walked, he thought of all the things he could do. With that in mind, he headed back, getting his car, going to get what it was he needed from the store. Soon he headed back, fixing up a picnic dinner included with a few candles and a blanket. The park would be wonderful for that.

Somehow, work actually went by pretty quickly. It was soon almost 5 o'clock and Gamzee still hadn't text Karkat to tell him that he was there. "HEY FUCKASS. WHERE ARE YOU?" He sent a message to Gamzee.

At the same time Sollux sent a message asking Gamzee to not pick up Karkat from work. He settled into his car with the picnic supplies in the back seat. He drove to the restaurant to pick Karkat up.

"i CaNt PiCk YoU uP. sOrRy." Gamzee sent back, cuddling up with Tavros.

"OH... FUCK..." Karkat sent back. "Then how am I supposed to get home?"

Sollux pulled up to the place and parked. He honked the horn a little bit, seeing Karkat standing by the doors.

Karkat looked up. "Sollux? Why are you here?" He asked as he walked over to the car.

"I wanted to thurprithe you." he said, smiling. "Get in. I wanna take you thomewhere."

"Okay..." He said softly, getting into the car. "Where are we going?"

"Thomewhere... Nice." he smiled, pulling out of the parking lot, heading towards the park. He went up to the highest point he could at the top of the hill. He parked the car and got out, getting into the back for the picnic supplies.

"Is this a picnic?" Karkat asked, flabbergasted. "Sollux... This is so sweet!"

Sollux blushed a little. "Y-Yeah..." He grabbed the basket and the blankets from the trunk and walked towards the grass. He picked a good spot and laid out the blanket before setting the basket down on it, getting out the candles. The sun was getting lower in the sky, getting close to setting. He got out the wine glasses he had brought, filling them with fruit juice. "I wanted to do thomething nice for you."

Karkat tackled Sollux. "I love you so much. Thank you!" He giggled, holding Sollux close. "This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me!"

Sollux blushed and kissed him gently. "Mmmmm." he hummed, grinning. "I love you."

"What did you make for us to eat?" Karkat asked, excited. They were on an actual date at the park at sunset. It was so romantic that he didn't know what to do with himself.

"Nothing real thpecial." he said, frowning. "I made a little... Thalad thing." he said, unwrapping the salads. "And a couple thandwicthhh..." he fumbled the last word. "Guh. Thorry. Lithp..."

"I love your lisp." He smiled. "It's adorable. So shut up and kiss me."

Sollux smiled brightly and kissed him gently, his hand slowly touching his cheek, his shoulder. It was a different kind of intimacy, and he enjoyed it. He laid back and smiled, pulling Karkat with him.

"I'm so happy." He smiled, curling up beside Sollux. "Baby... You are so sweet to me. I love you."

Sollux smiled. "I love you too. Leth eat. I'm really hungry." he smiled and sat back up, gently opening the box of food, pulling out the sandwiches. "Mmm..." He opened one up, taking a bite out of it.

Karkat took the sandwich from him. "Let me." He smiled, holding it up to Sollux.

Sollux blushed. He took a bite out of it, leaning back. "Mmm... I did good."

"You did." He smiled. "I want some."

Sollux grabbed the other sandwich, opening it up as he reached out, gently touching it against Karkat's lips.

Karkat took a bite. "Mmmmmm." He hummed as he ate the sandwich.

"Ith it good?" he asked, his smile staying stupidly plastered on his face.

He nodded fiercely. "Delicious." He giggled.

Sollux smiled. He took a cup of juice and gently sipped it. The sun was setting. He lit the candles around them and watched as it began to sink below the horizon.

Karkat was in complete awe. He had never pictured anything like this happening ever. He smiled at Sollux. "Best date ever."

"I'm glad." he said, his voice soft. He wrapped his arm around Karkat gently, kissing his cheek. "Mmmm... I love you." he whispered into his ear.

"I love you too Honey Bee." He leaned into Sollux. "This is so romantic..."

Sollux smiled, watching as the sun sank entirely behind the horizon. His eyes flickered and glowed in the moonlight.

'Your eyes are so pretty.' Karkat giggled as he watched. He didn't want to speak and ruin the moment so he let his mind convey what he was feeling.

Sollux leaned forward, kissing him gently, his eyes closing as he let his tongue brush against his lips.

Karkat parted his lips slightly. 'You taste good too.'

Sollux smiled, his eye lids fluttering. He kissed him gently, deepening the kiss.

Karkat slipped his hands into Sollux's hair. He moaned into the kiss as he pulled Sollux on top of him.

Sollux laid over him, his fingers entwining in the fabric of Karkat's shirt, his mind racing as he kissed him gently. This was wonderful, he thought. He felt so alive.

Karkat pulled away slightly. "Can we go home?" He asked breathlessly. "Please..."

Sollux nodded. They had finished their food and Sollux gently started packing up the rest of what was there.

Karkat helped with folding the blanket and carrying it to the car. "This was an amazing dinner." He smiled, wrapping his arms around Sollux. "I'm so luck. I have the most amazing matesprit in the world."

Sollux blushed. "Yeah." he said, gently kissing him. He piled everything into the car, getting in with Karkat and driving home.

Karkat helped to bring everything inside. "I believe that I need Honey Bee cuddles."

Carmine climbed out of her cocoon. "Mommy! Daddy!" She yelled.

"Carmine..." Karkat pulled away and ran up the stairs seeing a little girl with a blue eye and a red eye.

"Mommy!" She smiled.

Sollux gasped and hurried up the stairs. "You okay?" he looked up from where the cocoon had been. It was mostly gone.

"Carmine... She's…" Karkat smiled up at him. "Carmine, say hi to Daddy."

She looked up from Karkat's arms. "Hi Daddy!"

Sollux smiled. "Hello." he said, reaching out for her. "Hey..."

She walked over to Sollux. "I love you Daddy!" Carmine giggled as she hugged him. "You and mommy need to thtop fighting! It made me thad..."

"We're sorry Bumblebee." Karkat said softly, playing with her hair.

Sollux frowned. "You could hear uth?" he asked, frowning. "I'm thorry honey..." he got down on his knees, looking at her. She was wrapped up in some of the cocoon. "We need to get

you thome clothing..."

"We were actually just discussing what she was going to wear to come downstairs..." Karkat smiled.

"Yellow dreth!" Carmine smiled. "Thow Daddy the yellow dreth!"

He laughed and pulled the yellow dress from the bag of clothes that Eridan had brought a while ago. "She wants to wear this..."

Sollux took it and pulled it on over her head. "Ith cute." he smiled. "I... I can't believe that the day hath finally come."

"I need to go call Feferi. I'll be back." Karkat kissed the top of Carmine's head. He went downstairs, grabbing his phone and calling Feferi.

Sollux smiled, using his powers to pick her up.

Eridan answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Carmine just finished pupating." Karkat smiled. "Feferi wanted me to call and tell her when she did. By the way, she has that adorable little yellow dress on. It's so cute!"

"Aww!" he smiled. "Thats awwesome. I wwill let her knoww as soon as she gets home." he grinned. "Alright? Addy is pupatin right now too."

"That's awesome!" He grinned. "I bet he'll be even cuter when he's done! I know Carmine is!"

Eridan smiled. "Oh I knoww he wwill be. Anyway, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Bye Eridan!" Karkat sighed as he hung up the phone.

* * *

><p>Sollux smiled up at her. "I'm tho proud of you."<p>

"Daddy doethn't have to help me. I can fly!" She giggled using her own psionics. "Thee?"

"Good!" he smiled and gently levitated himself. "I'm proud of you. I can't wait to thee what elthe you can do."

Carmine grinned, using her powers to pick Sollux off the ground. "Daddy fly too!"

He went back up stairs. "Would you look at that... Both of my psionics are levitating." He smiled as he walked into the room.

Sollux had never been picked up by another psionic before. He let out a shriek of surprise, freaking out as he stabilized himself with his own powers, nearly falling.

Carmine pouted. "Daddy no trutht Carmine... Mommy!" She cried out looking at Karkat.

"He's just not used to being the one picked up baby girl. He does trust you."

Sollux let out a sigh. "I do trutht you." he said, rubbing his eyes. "Not uthed to that... I'm thorry." he said, frowning as he looked at her with sad eyes. He gently lowered himself.

She moved herself over to Sollux. "I love you Daddy!"

Sollux reached up and wrapped his arms around her. "I love you too." he said. "Leth get her thomething to eat and then head to bed. You've gotta work tomorrow." he said, frowning.

"I know... I don't want to go since she's out... I want to stay with her!" Karkat pouted. "I haven't gotten to hug my little girl in two weeks!"

"Mommy!" Carmine smiled, reaching toward Karkat. "I want to hug mommy!"


	50. Chapter 50

A month passed. Today was Sollux's birthday. Today he was turning 9.7 sweeps old. 21 human years. People had been pestering him about it and told him he should go out and drink. He declined as always. Karkat was at work, and Sollux sat with Carmine on the couch, watching movies and TV.

* * *

><p>Karkat hadn't actually gone to work. Gamzee had taken him to Eridan's where they were discussing a small surprise party for Sollux. "We need to get a cake!" Karkat smiled.<p>

"We should! And ice cream!" Feferi smiled.

Eridan nodded. "The cake has to be red and blue." he smiled. "Or yelloww." he wiggled around a little bit. "Cod this is so excitin!"

"I agree!" Karkat smiled. "Thanks so much you guys for helping me with this!"

Eridan smiled. "Not a problem. Gotta help my moirail havve the best birthday he can, yeah?"

"I almost forgot that you two are moirails..." Karkat smiled.

"I'm helping too!" Feferi smiled.

"Let's get over there." Karkat smiled.

Eridan nodded. "Yup! Wwe all are." he grinned.

"Let's go get everything and get going. It's close to time for me to be on break." Karkat giggled.

Eridan nodded. Together they headed out to the car.

Karkat smiles as they all pile into the car. "I'm so excited!"

Eridan smiled and started the car. "I am too." he said, grinning. "I can't wwait to see the look on his face."

* * *

><p>Sollux let out a sigh, leaning back against the couch, looking over at Carmine. Today sucked. Carmine was asleep on the couch, curled up around the bee plushy. He switched over to playing his video games on silent, his eyes half open. He was so bored. Sollux gently lifted Carmine and laid down, letting her sleep against his chest. He laid down and closed his eyes, sleeping quietly.<p>

A few minutes later Carmine woke up. "Daddy?"

Sollux breathed quietly, his breath coming soft and gently. His eyes moved gently from behind his eyelids.

Carmine smiled watching Sollux sleep. "Happy birfday Daddy."

Once they got to the store, Karkat ran inside getting everything they would need with help from Feferi.

"This cake is perfect!" Feferi smiled, pointing at a cake covered in red and blue.

Eridan looked at his phone, waiting for them to come back out of the store.

Karkat and Feferi giggled as they made their way out of the store. "This is going to be awesome! Shit... It's time for me to call Sollux.." He sat the bags down by the car. "Be quiet while I call him."

Feferi nodded.

Sollux's phone went off on the table. The psionic stirred slightly, but didn't wake from his slumber.

The phone went to voicemail. "Hey baby. Just wanted to call and I say I love you and that I miss you guys." Karkat spoke into the phone. He hung up after a few seconds and placed the phone back in his pocket. "He didn't answer so I'm going to say he's asleep."

* * *

><p>Katie walked up to the door. She hadn't seen or spoken to Sollux in a long time. In her hands there was a small box with yellow wrapping paper. She took a deep breath before knocking loudly.<p>

"Daddy... Door..." Carmine said shaking Sollux as much as she could.

Sollux shifted, rubbing his eyes. "Huh?" he sat up his hand on her shoulder. "Door?" He heard the knock again and got up, shuffling to the door. He opened it. "Katie..."

"Happy birthday Sollux." She smiled, holding the box out. "I got you a present! Oh... Who is this?" Katie asked, looking down at Carmine.

"Carmine Captor." She said looking up at Katie.

"Thith ith Carmine." he said, smiling as he took the box. "Thank you."

"She's gotten so big!" Katie smiled. "Open it." Inside the package there was a bottle of honey from France.

Sollux opened the packaging carefully. "Oh wow..." he smiled down at the jar. "Thank you." he grinned. "I'll make thure to put thith on the table." He grinned.

"I hope you like it." She smiled.

Carmine started to show images to Sollux. She was not happy about Katie being there without Karkat being there. "Mommy... When ith mommy coming home?"

Sollux looked away from Katie and down at Carmine. "Mommy will be home after work." he said, frowning. He tried to push the images away. "I've had French honey before and it wath really good."

Sollux felt Carmine pull at him. "Anyway... Thank you for the gift. I'll thee you around thometime." he sighed and watched her walk back across the street.

Karkat smiled as they pulled onto his street. "I'm so excited you guys! I hope he's sleeping when we get there..."

"Karkat, calm down. I know you're excited but you need to be a little calm." Feferi smiled.

"Uncle Eri!" Carmine yelled as she saw the car. "Daddy! Uncle Eri and Auntie Fef are here!" She started to dance around.

Karkat got out of the car after they parked and walked up to the door. "I hear Carmine." He smiled.

"Mommy!" She yelled again.

Sollux tilted his head, looking at Carmine. "Huh?" he walked over to the door, "Why...?" he opened it up. "You're home early..." he said, looking at Karkat.

"Surprise!" Karkat smiled. "Happy birthday Honey Bee."

Sollux gasped. "W-Wh..." he blushed. He was surprised for sure. "KK... You didn't have to..."

"But wwe wwanted to." Eridan said, grinning. "Let's get inside and get this party started." he smiled. "I bought a little something for the occasion." he said, holding up a bottle of champagne. "It's something small, so wwe all wwon't be drunk off our asses." he smiled.

"I wanted to do something special for your birthday." Karkat smiled. "I had the day off anyways, so I figured I would have Feferi and Eridan help me plan something. Gamzee is busy with meetings or else they would be here." He walked inside, picking Carmine up. "Thanks for keeping this a secret Bumblebee."

Eridan walked into the kitchen, getting out 4 glasses, pouring a little bit of champagne in each of them. He smiled, bringing them back out with Feferi's help. "Cheers." He handed Sollux a glass.

Sollux looked at the bubbling liquid. "I thaid I didn't want to drink..." he said, frowning.

"A little bit wwon't hurt you Sol. Besides it's just a sip."

Karkat took the glass and took a small sip. "This is pretty good." He smiled at Sollux. "We got to do a wine tasting when I was in France."

Feferi smiled and handed Sollux a card. "Happy birthday from me, Eri and Addy!"

Sollux took a sip. "Ith really not that bad." he smiled, taking the card. "Aww thank you." he said, opening it up, reading over it.

"What's it say?" Karkat asked, trying to look at the card.

_'Happy birthday Sollux! Our present to you is a night alone with Karkat! We'll take Carmine! Have fun! Eridan and Feferi Ampora '_ The card read.

Sollux flushed bright yellow. "O-Oh..." He said, blinking as he shut the card quickly. He walked over to them, hugging both of them tightly. "Thank you." he whispered to Eridan, who grinned in response papping his back.

"You're wwelcome." he grinned at Karkat.

Karkat couldn't read the card. "What?" he asked, holding onto Carmine.

* * *

><p>Gamzee had been putting some of the smaller and least threatening looking Subjugglators through trials to see who could take care of Tavros. 4 of them had passed the trial of keeping a small stuffed bull from getting hurt. "You're next trial is a cooking trial. You will cook a meal and I will personally taste it to see if it would please Tavros. Please keep in mind that he is a Vegetarian and does not eat meat."<p>

"Highblood, why are you using these young ones? They should be training." Kairin asked.

"Because I need someone to take care of Tavros. Since they aren't initiated, Moon Rise doesn't affect them. They will be taught to care for Tavros."

Tavros felt a little ill. It was getting close to the time where Gamzee would be going away for up to a month on leader business. No one would tell him what was up. He had given as many suggestions as possible regarding the whole thing with "moonrise" or whatever it was called. Tavros didn't care. He sighed. It was one of those days where even up in the mountains it was really hot. He sat around in a pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt. It felt almost like these days he never left his bedroom. He stared up at the ceiling. Gamzee was in meetings almost every day. It was tiresome. He pulled himself out of bed, crawling across the floor to his wheelchair, pulling himself up into it. He sighed and wheeled over to the corner, pulling on his legs. He hadn't worn them in a while. Slowly, he stood up and walked out of the room, heading towards the elevator.

Tavros wobbled around the first floor, looking around. Some of the house he swore he hadn't seen before. A lot of the paintings in the house he didn't really like, but they were mostly used for Subjugglators and their Mirthful Messiahs. He sighed quietly and wandered into a wing of the house he hadn't been in before. There was a sign on the door that read Tavros' name in Alternian. He blinked and walked inside. "Wo... Woah..." It was a huge room decorated with trees and vines. It looked like something out of his Pupa Pan books...and it was a library! There were books everywhere. Ramps led up to the higher levels. This was amazing. Tavros walked over and sat down on one of the comfy chairs and snuggled the bull plushy nearest him.

He didn't realize how much time had passed, and he had fallen asleep, the door shutting.

Gamzee found Tavros in his library. He smiled as he picked him up. "Well, at least it was finished before he found it..."

said, stretching a little, not noticing he wasn't on the ground anymore. "W-Wah"

"It's okay. I got ya." Gamzee smiled. "I won't let you fall."

Tavros shifted, rubbing his eyes. "Nnn?" he opened them, looking up at Gamzee. "Hey..." he

Tavros nodded. "I know." He smiled and reached up, touching his cheeks. "Did your meeting go well?"

"My meeting went well. I'm glad you liked your library. I was going to show you for your birthday..." Gamzee smiled.

Tavros smiled and leaned up to kiss him. "Gamzee?" He asked, his voice quiet.

"Yes Tav?" He asked softly.

"I'm really bored..." he said, frowning. "Since school isn't in session... I don't have anything to do..." he said, looking at Gamzee with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry love." Gamzee said softly. "That's why I had them put in the library... I thought it would help for when I'm at the island..."


	51. Chapter 51

Tavros' face paled. "Island?" he asked, blinking. "When are you going to the island? W-Why can't I come?" he asked, frowning.

"Not for a couple more months. It's Moon Rise." Gamzee explained. "I don't want you there for your protection."

Tavros frowned. "But Gamzee..." he whispered. "It's not fair... I... I want to get out and do something and I can't..." he pouted his lips.

"I'm sorry Tav but you can't come with me on this trip.. I'm sorry but I'm not going to risk you getting hurt." Gamzee said. "I'll take you to the island just not during Moon Rise."

Tavros pouted. He wanted so bad to be angry. He wanted to cry. He shifted, his feet wanting to touch the ground. "Gamzee put me down." he said. "I want to walk."

Gamzee nodded and did as he was told. "I'm sorry Tav. I would take you but Moon Rise is dangerous..."

Tavros shivered and clenched his fists. "I... I never get to do anything..." he said, sniffling. "I'm so bored all the time... You are always in meetings. I can't do anything." He never wanted to be angry at Gamzee. He turned and stormed off as much as he could, walking to some part of the house he still hadn't been into.

"Tavros. Please listen to me." Gamzee begged. "It's not that I don't want you to come with me but they would kill you and I wouldn't be able to stop it!" He said as he followed. "I'll take you anywhere you want to go! I promise!"

Tavros stopped in the middle of the hall, a sob shaking him. "T-Take me on a date..." he said, rubbing at his eyes. "Just... Take me out somewhere... Anywhere..."

"Not a problem. I'll cancel everything for the rest of the day and tomorrow too." Gamzee said. "I'm so sorry Tav." He whispered, holding his arms out to him.

Tavros sniffed and turned to face him, burying his face in his chest. He sniffed and clung to him. "I'm sorry... I just... I miss you."

"I miss you too Tav. I'm just new at this whole being a leader thing. I'm so sorry." He whispered. "It's just that Moon Rise is so close and I have to make sure there are enough dummies for everyone to get some paint..." Gamzee pulled Tavros close. "I love you."

Tavros sniffed and clung to him tightly. "I'm sorry I'm such a needy matesprit..."

"It's fine. I'm sorry that I haven't been around very much lately..." Gamzee whispered, kissing his cheek. "I'm so sorry."

Tavros sniffled and scooted as close as he could to him. "It's okay..." he said softly. "Can we

maybe go somewhere today? Just for a little while?"

"Sounds like a plan. Why don't we go swimming?" Gamzee suggested. "How does that sound?"

"Swimming?" Tavros asked. "O-Okay..." his face lit up. "But my legs..." he frowned. "Can I swim like this?" he asked. "I mean... I can use... The floaty things." he said.

"Or I can just hold you. I like that idea better." Gamzee smiled.

"Gamzee that would be really sweet." he said. He broke away from Gamzee and walked towards the elevator. "I really want to go now." he said, trying to hurry without falling.

Gamzee picked him up again. "I agree." After a few minutes of walking, they ran into Kairin. "I'm cancelling my meetings for the rest of the day and tomorrow as well." He said but kept walking.

Tavros hurried into their bedroom. He dug around for his swim trunks, quickly ridding himself of his legs as he rolled around on the bed, changing into the trunks.

Gamzee stripped himself quickly and changed into his trunks as well. He turned and looked over at Tavros. "You look amazing, Tav." He smiled as he walked over to him. "This is going to be motherfucking miraculous."

Tavros blushed. "Aww... Thank you." he smiled.

"I love you." He smiled, touching his forehead against Tavros'.

Tavros giggled a little bit, squirming. "Awww!" he grinned, slipping his legs on. "Let's go!." He sat down in his wheelchair.

"Let's go!" Gamzee smiled as he began to push the wheelchair down the corridors and hallways of their mansion.

Tavros grinned and squirmed a little, excited to go to the pool. He didn't know how to swim, but he knew Gamzee would take care of that.

After an hour of driving to get out of the mountains, they arrived at the pool. Gamzee smiled as he pulled out Tavros' wheelchair from the back. "This is going to be motherfucking amazing!" He smiled.

"Of course" Tavros exclaimed, grinning with excitement. "I'm so excited!" he smiled and wriggled around in his chair.

Gamzee pushed Tavros inside. "Wow.. This is pretty nice. What do you think Tav? Should we have a pool put into the house?" He laughed.

"I don't know... I could work on getting stronger that way." he said, smiling.

"True. But it would also be nice for super-hot days." Gamzee stopped by a table. "Is this an okay spot with you Tav?" He asked before he started unpacking their things.

Tavros nodded and gently unhooked his legs, letting them slip free. The pool was mostly empty. He wondered why.

Gamzee also didn't understand why the pool was almost empty. He shrugged. 'Oh well, gives us more room to swim.'

Tavros reached up for Gamzee. "I bet the water is cold..." he said, frowning. "I hope it's not too cold..."

"I'll keep you warm Tav." Gamzee smiled at him as he wrapped his arms around him.

Tavros hoisted himself up onto Gamzee's chest, smiling, his body much lighter now. He smiled and rode against Gamzee as they made their way to the water.

"It's pretty cold Tav..." Gamzee warned.

Tavros whimpered. "I think I'll be okay." he said softly.

Gamzee walked further into the water shivering as it touched his calves, he knees and then his thighs. A few more feet and it was up to his waist and covering Tavros' legs. He shivered slightly. "You okay?"

Tavros shivered but nodded. "It feels really nice compared to the heat out here."

"It does. Do you want me to walk further?" He asked, shifting his grip on Tavros slightly.

Tavros nodded. "It's fine, really." he smiled.

Gamzee walked a few feet more, happy that he was tall or else they would be half way to drowning.

Tavros grinned, gently using his arms to hold onto Gamzee, his legs moving gently in the water. "This is wonderful Gamzee." he said, smiling.

"It's a good thing that I'm so tall, huh?" He laughed. "Do you want me to sink down a little?"

Tavros nodded. "Yeah!" he said, smiling. He loved the water and playing in it was going to be amazing.

Gamzee bent his knees a little, bringing them both further into the water. He loosened his grip on Tavros just a enough to keep him floating. "This okay?"

Tavros nodded, flailing his legs a little bit, letting them move freely in the water.

Gamzee leaned back so that his shoulders were in the water. This allowed him to move faster with Tavros on top of him. He laughed as he moved, using his feet to push off from the bottom when the momentum started to die.

Tavros smiled and leaned onto him, his face lighting up. "Gamzee! This is awesome!" he said, grinning.

Gamzee started to walk backwards a little, pulling Tavros along in the water. He laughed seeing that Tavros was confused at first but soon realized that he was actually swimming.

Tavros smiled, dipping his face into the water, wetting his hair.

Gamzee smiled, going under the water for a second and wetting his own hair. He kissed the top of Tavros' head when he broke the surface again. "I love you Tav!"

Tavros grinned. "Love you too!" he said, smiling brightly.

"Going under!" Gamzee said, warning Tavros to take a deep breath.

Tavros took a deep breath, plugging his nose with his hand.

Gamzee followed but didn't plug his nose. Instead, he exhaled a little as he went under the water. He smiled a goofy smile at Tavros when they broke the surface of the water.

Tavros giggled. "I'm so glad you're tall. I don't know how to swim." he smiled. "This is wonderful." He said, grinning from ear to ear.

Gamzee smiled widely, happy to see his love smiling again. "There's the Tav smile that I missed!" He laughed as he started to slow down. "Let's just wade for a bit. How does that sound?"

Tavros nodded furiously, grinning widely.

He slowed to a stop but kept his knees bent. "The water feels so mother... Nice... Don't want to cuss with all the little ones here." Gamzee grinned, happy that he had caught himself. "Plus, my Tav is here. Can't get better than this."

Tavros smiled, leaning against him the best he could. "Mmmm..." he hummed, resting, feeling the water lap at his sides.

Gamzee waded through the water, holding Tavros close to him. "Just let me know when you get hungry and we'll go get something to eat.

Tavros nodded. He wanted to try swimming under the water so bad.

The indigo eyes of the high blooded troll meet the soft chocolate brown of his lover. "I love you Tavros." He whispered to the other.

"I love you too, Gamzee." He said, smiling up at him, gently resting his head on Gamzee's chest as they swam.

Together, they floated through the water, not a care in the world. They were in their own little bubble with no Subjugglators, no meetings, no approaching Moon Rise. Nothing but Gamzee and Tavros.

Tavros loved this. He clung to him and felt his eyes close slightly. This was delightful. He hadn't felt this happy in a long time.

"Don't fall asleep." Gamzee cooed softly. "I don't want you to slip." He smiled, watching as the Taurus fought with sleep.

Tavros whimpered and opened his eyes. "Gamzee will you take me underwater and swim?" he asked, looking up at him.

"Anything you want." He smiled. "Deep breath."

Tavros took a deep breath. He sucked in all the air as he could as they plunged beneath the surface of the water. It felt like he was flying. He opened his eyes and saw them trudging through the water. He held his arms out, feeling like he was soaring. Soon he needed to take a breath and used his arms to flail to the surface, breaking it as he took a massive intake of air.

Gamzee pushed up out of the water. "Tav? You okay?" He asked, worry flooding his features.

Tavros smiled. "Yes." he said, squirming over to Gamzee. "That was amazing thank you." he said, laughing a little as he wiped his hair from his eyes.

A lazy smile replaced the worry on Gamzee's face as he reveled in his lover's happiness. "I'm glad."

Tavros smiled. "I feel like I'm flying underwater." He said, scooting up next to him, looking happy.

Gamzee went under the water a few more times before declaring that he was hungry and wanted to get some food. He smiled as they got out of the pool and dried themselves. He hummed a song that sounded like something you would hear at a carnival.

Tavros had heard the melody before, and hummed something quietly, something he remembered from his childhood.

* * *

><p>Sollux shook his head. "Don't worry about it." he said quietly, smiling weakly. "It'll be all quite fine."<p>

"Do you not like our present Sollux?" Feferi asked. "We thought it would be fitting..."

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Karkat asked. "What's the fucking card say?"

"Nooo I love it." he grinned. "Very, very much." He laughed and swayed shyly.

"Yay!" Feferi giggled, hugging Eridan tightly. "We did good!"

"What did you do? You know what. I don't even care anymore." Karkat sighed, going back to the kitchen to get cake and ice cream with Carmine in his arms.

Sollux smiled. "Don't worry, KK ith good."

"I feel like I should be afraid..." Karkat whimpered softly. "Protect me Carmine."

She giggled and covered the two of them in blue and red light. "Mommy ith thafe now!"

"That's so cute!" Feferi chirped.

Sollux laughed. "I think I'll let her keep doing that." he said, smiling. "I don't want to jutht burtht in."

"Carmine wantth Daddy hugs!" She said, holding her arms out toward Sollux. "Daddy hug!"

Sollux reached out and picked her up. "Here you go." he smiled and held her close. "Mmm~"

"Happy birfday!" Carmine whispered in his ear. "I love you mothtetht."

"Carmine! Don't forget that you have to share Daddy with me!" Karkat smiled.

Sollux smiled and kissed her cheek. "You are tho thweet. Thank you."

Carmine giggled. "Daddy!" She kissed his cheek back.

"Don't forget about me!" Karkat pouted. "I want Sollux and Carmine hugs too."

"You three are so glubbing cute!" Feferi giggled. "Don't you think Eri?"

Sollux wobbled over, pushing Carmine between them. "And here I thought we'd never have a family." he laughed. "Thith ith... Jutht wonderful."

Karkat smiled. "It is." He wrapped his arms around his love and snuggled into his daughter's hair. "I'm so lucky!"

* * *

><p>Gamzee continued to hum until they got to the restaurant. "You haven't had meat in a while. You should probably have come chicken or something, tonight..." He said softly as they were seated.<p>

"I think I really want a steak or something. Something little." he smiled. "I feel like I've eaten nothing but tofu and veggies for the past week." he smiled weakly and wriggled in his chair.

"Can do." Gamzee smiled. It was times like this that being the Purple King was awesome because it allowed him to buy pretty much anything he wanted.

"Thank you." He smiled, ordering a juice.

Gamzee knew that the place didn't have Faygo so he ordered Fruit Punch. "It's been way too long since we've been on a date..." He sighed. "I'm sorry that I've been so busy Tav."

Tavros nodded. "I understand." he said quietly, his hands fumbling on the table.

* * *

><p>All 5 of them smiled and laughed as they ate cake and generally celebrating Sollux's birthday. "You guys really don't have to take Carmine for the night." Karkat said. "It's fine plus it's only her second night out of the cocoon..."<p>

"No. She's going to come spend the night with us and you two are going to have some alone time." Feferi smiled, holding Carmine and her bag. "Isn't that right Carmine?"

Carmine giggled. "Bye Mommy! Bye Daddy!" She waved as the sea dwellers took her from her home for the night.

"I don't really see the point in this..." Karkat murmured closing the door.

"I do." He smiled, pulling Karkat close. "I thee it clearly."

"Sollux... What did the card say? Why did they take Carmine?" He asked, looking at Sollux with concern. "Wait... That's your perv face..."

Sollux grinned. "Leth go upthtairth." he said, smirking.

"Sollux..." Karkat whimpered, his face turning purple but he followed Sollux up the stairs and into their bedroom. 'So this is what they meant by giving Sollux the best birthday ever...'

Sollux smiled, pulling him close. "We have the whole house by ourthelveth." he said, grinning. "Thall we?" he asked, quirking his eyebrows.

Karkat stood on his tiptoes, kissing Sollux gently. "Only because it's your birthday." He smirked as he pulled away.

Sollux pouted. "You'd do it for me on another night too, you know it." he said, grinning. "Don't be thilly."

"Shut up and kiss me, you lisping fuck." Karkat grinned, kissing Sollux again as his fingers entangled into the Gemini's hair.

Sollux pushed his lips against Karkat's bringing them both close. "Mmm." he hummed, parting his lips, lapping at Karkat's with his split tongue.

He met the bifurcated tongue with his own, their teeth clacking together lightly at some points. He detangled his fingers and started to pull at Sollux's shirt.

Sollux moaned quietly, lifting his arms up, the kiss breaking for a moment, the shirt being tossed aside. This felt so good.

Karkat ran his nails gently down Sollux's sides as he reclaimed the older troll's mouth. He felt so much more aware of the other troll's movements, the brush of his sexy, bifurcated tongue against his lips as they kissed, the way that Sollux's fingers brushed lightly against the skin under his shirt. It was so surreal.

Sollux moaned quietly, his breath hitching as he moved against him, his hands wandering over his lover's hips and chest.

Reluctantly he broke the kiss and pulled his own shirt over his head. Grabbing Sollux by the pants, he pulled Sollux over to the bed, forcing Sollux on top of his body as he gasped at the hot fingers of his lover.

Sollux grinned, pinning him down. "Mmmm..." he hummed, his fingers roving over his body, leaving trails of hot kisses against his flesh. He bit down on his collarbone, licking at the soft, abused skin.

Karkat moaned softly, arching his back into the touches and nips. "Nngh." He whimpered as Sollux licked his wounds. He didn't care how many bruises and hickies he ended up with because the feeling that Sollux was giving him was intoxicating.

"Hm~" He hummed, flicking his tongue over Karkat's nipple, smirking at the reaction it got. He slid his hands down Karkat's body, his fingers slipping into the waistband of Karkat's pants. "Thethe need to come off." he said, grinning widely as he undid them.

Raising his hips to help the pants slide off easier, he nodded. He looked at his matesprit before noticing that his bonebulge was starting to peek out from its sheath. Karkat grinned when he saw the pants get flung to the floor and Sollux climb over him again.

Sollux squirmed out of his own pants, tossing them to the floor. He scooted down his body, fingers quickly finding his nook, slipping inside.

Karkat moaned loudly. "Gog... I missed this..." Having been over a month since their last time, everything felt new and exciting to him. He whimpered as soon as Sollux started to move his thin fingers as he pushed against them.

"I've mithed thith too." he said, looking at him with a coy smile. "KK you have no idea."

He nodded, not really hearing the words but he knew that Sollux had been speaking to him with that adorable lisp that drove him crazy when the older troll's voice became husky with lust. He pulled Sollux close, wanting that sweet taste of the Gemini.

Sollux kissed him gently, his tongue slipping into Karkat's mouth with ease. His digits moved quickly in the other troll, feeling Karkat's bulge slowly work on pushing its way out, wrapping around his hand. He smirked, feeling his own begin to do the same. "KK." He breathed, moving back from him a bit, his own breathing labored as he sat back, his legs spread.

"Sollux... Please put them in..." He whimpered, feeling Sollux's finger move even quicker. "Baby, please..."

Sollux grinned. "Not until you come over here and touch me." he said, his eyes filled with lust.

Karkat shifted, bringing his hand down to stroke one of the gold colored bulges. He wanted so badly to have them inside but he knew that Sollux wouldn't give in until he got what he wanted. "Sadist..."

Sollux felt his other bulge wrap around Karkat's hand, nudging it towards his nook. "You bet." he said, whimpering, his voice breathy with pleasure.

"Sollux... Please!" He begged, shifting his hips further against the fingers. "Please put it in." Karkat stroked him faster as he begged.

Sollux grinned, withdrawing his fingers. He felt one of his own bulges gently brush against his nook, eliciting a moan from the Cancer. He whimpered and pushed Karkat back onto the bed, one of his bulges sinking itself into Karkat's nook quickly.

Karkat moaned as Sollux pushed inside. Heat flooded his senses but it was a delicious and welcome heat. He could feel his own bulge searching for the entrance to Sollux's nook. The sound of the yellow bloods moans, driving him mad.

Sollux cried out, feeling the second one push into Karkat. It left him open, feeling Karkat's bulge prod his insides. He cried out, digging his nails into the sheets on the bed as he pushed his hips up further, feeling his bulges began to writhe.

Karkat brought his arms up around Sollux's shoulders, pushing his hips up into the thrusts. He knew at once when his bulge found the other's nook for Sollux began to cry out in his ear, the most beautiful sound that the Cancer had ever heard minus the words 'I love you.'

Sollux panted and whimpered, his body reacting quickly. He felt everything start to tighten in his stomach. It had been far too long.

It was slightly difficult for Karkat to lean up and leave marks and kisses along Sollux's neck but he did it anyways. He moaned against the hot flesh of the other's neck as his body started to tighten with the approaching release.

Sollux bit down on his shoulder, stifling a scream and a moan, gasping as he felt his body tighten. He was so close. His bulges writhed inside of Karkat, deepening the connection between the two.

Karkat moaned, his back arching as the yellow blood thrust into him and drove his bulge deeper inside. The mix of sensations was indescribable as Karkat reached his orgasm. He yelled Sollux's name and dug his nails into the back of his matesprit.

Sollux cried out feeling Karkat's bulge pump his genetic fluids into him. He gasped, crying out as well, filling Karkat in return. He shuddered and moaned, resting over him, his body shaking. "N-Nnn..." he whimpered. "Thank you."

"Happy birthday love." Karkat whispered, kissing Sollux's cheek.

"Thank you." He pried himself from off of Karkat's body, smiling as he held him close. "I love you... Tho much."

Karkat wrapped his arms a little tighter around Sollux. "Best birthday ever?" He asked smiling.

Sollux nodded, curling up with him. "Yeth. "

The Cancer smiled as he fell asleep in the arms of his love. He couldn't imagine a more perfect night with his matesprit.

Sollux soon fell asleep, wrapped around Karkat tightly, his hands finding the perfect grove to rest themselves against on Karkat's body.

* * *

><p>He reached for the other's hands. "It doesn't mean that it was okay..." Gamzee whispered.<p>

The next morning, Tavros shifted, rubbing his eyes. He had curled up with Gamzee, wrapping his arms around him gently.

Gamzee was sprawled out on his back, a little bit of drool coming from his mouth. Feeling

Tavros snuggle closer to him, he pulled his arm up so it was resting on his side.

Tavros rubbed his eyes. "Nnn... Gamzee." he whispered, his voice soft.

Gamzee twitched as he woke up. "Morning Tav. It's been a while since we woke up together... I missed that." He smiled at Tavros.

Tavros smiled. "It has..." he said, grinning. "I missed it."

"I hope you have things that you want to do today because you have me all to yourself today." He grinned and nuzzled his face into Tavros' hair.

Tavros looked up at him. "Are you serious?" he asked, his eyes wide. "W-Wha... I didn't think you were really serious... I'm so happy." He smiled and kissed Gamzee's chest, grinning.

Gamzee smiled lazily. "So what do you want to do?" He asked softly, playing with the fluffy mohawk.

"Lots of things." He said. "I want to go to the zoo really bad."

"Then let's go to the zoo and go look at some motherfucking animals." Gamzee smiled.

Tavros grinned. "Can I try and walk today?" He asked, squirming around a bit. "I'd like to try it."

"Of course!" He pulled Tavros close. "But you have to promise to hold my hand all day!" Gamzee giggled. "Think you can do that?"

Tavros nodded. "Yeah!." He said, grinning widely. "I'm sure I can!"

Gamzee kissed his cheek a few times. "Motherfucking miracles."

Tavros grinned widely. "Let's go get ready"

Gamzee got dressed quickly and spent the rest of the time helping Tavros. "Why don't we go somewhere nice for a little breakfast?"

Tavros nodded, pulling a pair of shorts over his legs. He was having troubles.

"Want some help Tav?" Gamzee asked, pulling him close.

"Yeah..." Tavros admitted, frowning. He felt ashamed that he couldn't even get dressed by himself at this point. He sighed, almost exasperated with effort. He was frustrated.

"Keep your arms around my neck." He said softly before kissing Tavros and pulling his pants up the rest of the way. He zipped them quickly. "That wasn't so hard. Don't be afraid to ask for help, Tav. I'm here for you."

"But..." he frowned. "I want to be self-sufficient..." he said, looking at him. "And it's hard when I'm handicapped..."

"I know Tav. But you can't do everything by yourself and that's why I like to help you." Gamzee smiled softly. "Remember, we're here to help each other out and because we love each other. If that means helping you get dressed and you helping me through my episodes then that's what we do. Either way, I'm always here to help!"

Tavros frowned. He wanted to be able to do more than what he was able to do now. He pouted and sighed slightly, hugging him close.

"I'm sorry love..." The Capricorn said softly, leaving soft kisses on Tavros' forehead. "Let's get going! The zoo awaits!" He tried to get him to think of their date.

Tavros nodded, getting up off the bed. "I'm so excited" He grinned.

Gamzee watched him carefully, afraid that he might fall since he hadn't been using his legs a lot. "Me too!" He laughed.

Tavros followed him as closely as he could, stumbling along near him, reaching out for his hand. "Mmm~" He smiled, walking out of their room, towards the elevator. He wasn't confident enough to take the stairs yet.

Gamzee decided to walk slower, to make things easier for Tavros. He smiled as he laced their fingers together while they stood in the elevator. "This was an awesome idea."

"It was." He smiled and walked with Gamzee out to the car. He cringed a little bit, seeing one of the Subjugglators standing there by the car.

"Highblood, I can't allow you to leave. We have important matters to..." He was cut off by Gamzee glaring at him.

"I am going to spend the day with Tavros and as your leader, I order you to leave me the fuck alone for the day." He growled.

Tavros cringed at the sudden display of anger, hiding behind Gamzee slightly, his form shivering.

"I apologize Highblood." The Subjugglator moved away from the bus. Gamzee started to walk again but kept the slower pace.

"Come on Tav."

Tavros shuffled forward, his hands fumbling with the straps of his bag.

"I'm sorry that I scared you but it's the only way to get through to them... That's kinda why I don't have you come to the meetings. I have to yell a lot." Gamzee said softly.

Tavros nodded. "I know." he said, "I can sometimes hear the yelling from upstairs." he admitted.

"Really? Sorry." He truly was. He knew how bad it scared Tavros to hear him yell. Gamzee stopped and pulled Tavros close to him. "I love you so much Tav. Never forget that."

"I know." He looked up at him, smiling. "It's all good." He said, grinning widely as he hugged him.

Gently, he placed his hand under Tavros' chin, pulling him into a chaste kiss. "Shall we go?"

Tavros smiled and nodded frantically before hurrying to the car.

Gamzee got into the bus and started it up, grinning as the engine purred. "Where do you want to go for breakfast?"

Tavros looked at him, frowning. "Uhhhh..." He said softly. "I don't know..." he scratched his head, frowning.

"How about Arby's? You like their food right?" He asked, eager to please his matesprit.

Tavros nodded. "Yeah." he said, smiling.

* * *

><p>The alarm clock seemed to be even angrier on this particular morning. Karkat shifted and glared at the small noise maker. "Why do you insist on waking me up when I am completely content and cuddling with my matesprit?" He turned to look at Sollux, seeing the smile on his face. "I love you." He whispered as he crawled out of the bed.<p>

Sollux shifted slightly, opening his eyes. "Aww..." he whispered.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry." Karkat whispered as he pulled some pajamas on. "What do you want for breakfast?"

Sollux rubbed his eyes. "It'th fine." he said softly, looking at him. "Really." He tapped his chin. "Anything." He replied, smiling.

"Okay." Karkat smiled as he made his way down to the kitchen.

Sollux shifted around, rubbing his eyes. He didn't want to get up.

The kitchen was soon filled with the sweet scent of cinnamon rolls. Karkat smiled as he pulled them out of the oven.

Sollux mumbled softly. "Yum..." he hummed, getting up, walking downstairs.

"I was just about to come get your ass down here." Karkat laughed.

Sollux smiled. "It thmelled too good." He replied.

"Aw. And here I was thinking that you had come down here for me..." He smirked.

"Well that too." He smiled and leaned forward, kissing him gently.

"Yay!" The Cancer giggled softly, kissing back. "I hope you realize that you have a few more hickies to add to your collection."

"Oh I'm aware." He smiled brightly.

"I like them." Karkat smirked, kissing Sollux's neck again. "Maybe I should leave a few more?"

Sollux blushed. "I wouldn't object." he said, smiling brighter, tilting his head to let Karkat have better access.

Karkat left a few more hickies on Sollux's neck. "We should probably eat something..." He whispered trailing kisses over his collarbone.

Sollux whimpered and leaned against him. "Mmmmm yeah, but..." he moaned quietly, pushing Karkat against the counter, kissing him.

He pulled back slightly. "You don't want cinnamon rolls? I'm okay with that but we should probably tell Feferi not to bring Carmine home until later."

"I do, but we can eat them later." he said, kissing him again, holding him close. "I won't be able to do thith again for a while." he said, smirking. "I think Feferi knows we need to have a little more time to ourthelveth."

Karkat nodded, pulling Sollux closer to him and kissing him deeply. He wanted that soft touch and the fiery tingling to flood his body again. "Sollux..." He whispered.

Sollux grinned, pushing against him with his body. It felt amazing to be held and to kiss like this. He let his hands play on his hips.

Passion and lust were starting to consume Karkat and he was completely okay with that. It made every simple touch from Sollux feel so much better, more intimate. He slipped his hands into Sollux's hair, rubbing the bases of his growing horns and moaning as Sollux pushed further against him.

He moaned loudly, pushing his hips hard into Karkat's, feeling his bulge start to reveal itself. "KK..." he gasped out, moving back from his neck.

Karkat whimpered. He wasn't exactly sure how okay he was with having sex in the kitchen but that was mainly because he couldn't quite think straight. His fingers kept moving against the dual sets of horns as his mouth became busy by kissing the marks he had left on Sollux's shoulder.

Sollux moaned, panting quietly as he moved his hips against his. "Floor." He muttered, pointing as he moved his hands to Karkat's hips, digging his nails into them.

Karkat nodded, letting go of Sollux's horns and getting down onto his knees. He palmed the Gemini's emerging bulges. "Come here Captor."

Sollux stepped forward, his legs spreading just enough so Karkat could get full access to him.

Karkat ran his tongue up along the sheath, letting it run over the emerging bulges occasionally. A purr came from deep in his chest as he worked on his matesprit.

Sollux let out soft mewling noises, his body shaking as he steadied himself, grabbing a fist full of Karkat's hair.

The tip came in contact with Karkat's lips, gently he sucked it into his mouth, lavishing it with his tongue. It tasted sweet but salty.

Sollux covered his mouth with his hand, his whole body shaking. "O-Oh fuck KK..." He whimpered.

Karkat let a little more of the bulge into his mouth, careful not to let too much in and choke. One of his hands moved up, stroking the other bulge slowly.

This was incredibly kinky. Karkat, with his sharp teeth, was being so delicate. He whimpered and clenched his fists. "KK..."

He pulled back from the bulge, making a small popping sound as he did so. "Yes Sollux?" He looked up at his matesprit, a little bit of yellow genetic material on his lips.

Sollux panted. "W-Wow you are good with your mouth..."

Karkat smirked. "I'm glad you like my mouth."

Sollux moaned quietly, looking down at him. "Of courthe I do." he said, spreading his legs. "My nook wanth attention." he said, his eyes filled with lust.

"Does it want attention from my tongue?" Karkat asked, a smirk on his face.

Sollux glared down at him. "Did you theriouthly jutht athk that quethtion?" He smirked. "Don't be thtupid of courthe I do."

Shaking his head at the forwardness of his matesprit, he leaned toward him and ran his tongue along the outside of the nook. "Do you want that?"

Sollux let out a low mewling sound. "Fuck KK... Thtop teathing me..." he panted, looking down at him.

"But it's fun." He pouted a little before getting back to running his tongue along the yellow blood's nook. After a moment, he tilted his head up and back, slipping his tongue inside the nook.

Sollux let out a low groan. "Oh gog..." He muttered. It felt amazing.

Karkat worked his tongue back and forth, pulling it out and pushing it back in. Hopefully, this would please Sollux enough for him to only want Karkat. He wrapped his arms around Sollux's legs in an attempt to keep him stable but with how badly he was shaking, Karkat didn't think it would work very well.

Sollux shivered. He shifted slightly, moving Karkat's head for just a moment as he moved to sit down on the ground, his legs spread. "You can continue now." He said breathlessly.

Crawling on his hands and knees, Karkat went over to his matesprit. He kissed down Sollux's thigh, nipping at random spots. The sounds coming from the psionic were just delicious and he craved more of them. He moved slowly but finally ended up at the nook again. Karkat slipped his tongue inside, moving it slowly as he purred.

Sollux let out a shaky moan. "A-Aaaaahnnnnn!" He cried out, squirming on the ground.

Karkat pulled away after a moment. "Am I not going to get any fun besides torturing you?" He pouted, pulling away further. "Maybe I should just do this myself..."

Sollux whimpered. "KK pleathe don't thtop..." He begged, his voice soft. "Nnnnnn..."

He sighed dramatically but went back to eating Sollux out. The purr began to rumble through his chest again and he wondered silently to himself if Sollux could feel it. Soon enough, Karkat could taste the genetic material that was starting to coat the inside of his matesprit's nook. He pulled back for a second, letting a little drip off of his lip as he licked them clean.

Sollux panted, looking down at him. "KK..." He breathed out, looking at him with big eyes. "I want you."

"How do you want me?" He whispered, slinking up Sollux's body, trailing kisses as he moved further up.

Sollux growled, his body aching. "Jutht put your fucking bone bulge in my nook..." he said, glaring at him.

Karkat brought his hips forward without warning, his bonebulge sinking deep into Sollux's nook. He thrust hard into the other. "Oh my gog..."

Sollux threw his head back against the floor, feeling it bump hard against it. He didn't care. "f-Fuck!" he cried out, reaching around, grabbing onto Karkat tightly. "Nnnghhhh fuck..." he moaned out.

He leaned down, leaving soft kisses on the yellow blood's chest before taking his nipple into his mouth. Karkat was at the point where he would do anything to keep Sollux to himself. Well, mostly anything.

Sollux moaned and gripped him tightly. He panted and whimpered. "Nnngh... Fuck fuck fuck..." He felt his bulges curl up on themselves.

Karkat whimpered. It had been a lot longer since he had been top and he liked it a lot but he wanted Sollux's bulges in him. "Put yours in too..." He moaned as he kept thrusting, gently spreading his legs a little further.

Sollux groaned and tensed his muscles, feeling his bulges search for Karkat's nook, sinking deep inside. "Nnnghhhh..." He panted.

Karkat moaned loudly, thrusting hard into him. The twin bulges that now filled him were brought inside even deeper. "Oh gog... Sollux..." He whimpered feeling them move inside him. "Baby..."

Sollux whimpered, biting down on Karkat's shoulder, sucking at the wound.

His vision started to blur as he laid his head on the other's shoulder, his breath shallow. Karkat wasn't sure if it was the pleasure or the fact that they hadn't eaten in over 12 hours that was making him dizzy but he needed to make Sollux finish.

Sollux whimpered, moving against him. "KK..." He breathed. "I'm tho clothe."

Karkat was having difficulty forming words but figured that nodding against Sollux would deliver his message. He was sure that his mind was blank of anything besides Sollux's body and those moans that ripped themselves from his throat. Shifting slightly, he claimed the Gemini's mouth with his own, his tongue pushing against the other's lip and gaining easy entrance into the hotness of the cavern.

He cried out, gasping as he slammed up into him, feeling his body release into him.

Karkat pulled away from him, moaning loudly as he too released. Gently, he shifted as his bonebulge started to retract. "I love you Honey Bee." He smiled softly, trying not to pass out in the middle of the kitchen.

Sollux held him close. "...I'm tho hungry..." he whispered, rubbing his eyes. "Nnnn..."

"I don't think I could move if I tried." Karkat whimpered. "I'm kinda dizzy..."

Sollux used his powers to lift them gently carrying them to the couch. "I'll get you a cinnamon roll." he said.

Karkat nodded. "Are you going to actually get up? I don't want you to move..." He snuggled closer to Sollux.

"I'll be right back?" He laughed a little, kissing his neck. "I promithe."

The Cancer glared as his matesprit walked away. "Jackass... I wanted to cuddle..." He pouted.

Sollux brought back a few rolls on a plate. "You need to eat." He said, putting the plate down in front of him.

"I know but I also want my Honey Bee to be cuddling me." He grabbed one of the cinnamon rolls and bit into it. Karkat glared at Sollux as he ate. "We don't really get time to ourselves and I don't know the next time that we will... Besides, once you start school, we'll only have an hour to talk and stuff before you have to leave and when you get back, I'll be asleep." He pouted.

"I know. But thcool won't latht that long for me." He said, smiling. "It'll be okay."

"Still..." Karkat whispered. "Besides, what are we going to do when Carmine starts school? I'm just worried about everything..."

"We will figure it out." He said, smiling. "It'll be okay."

He whimpered, curling up on the couch. "Cuddle with me..."

Sollux munched down on a few of the rolls before going back over to the couch, resting his head against Karkat's chest as he curled up with him.

Karkat was already half asleep at this point. He snuggled around Sollux. "Your horns are bigger..."

Sollux made a soft noise of recognition. "Yeah I gueth." he said softly.

It wasn't much longer that Karkat was passed out with his arms wrapped around Sollux.

* * *

><p>The pair drove to Arby's and ordered their breakfast. They sat in the parking lot and ate, chatting about how things would go when Tavros went back to school. Gamzee also informed Tavros that after Moon Rise that they would be taking a trip to the nation's capital to meet with the president. "Yeah. Kanaya has decided to make me some more traditional Subjugglator clothes."<p>

Tavros nodded. "That will be really interesting to see." he said, smiling brightly. "I can't wait to see."

"Me too." Gamzee smiled. "She said that it's going to look almost skeletal and that she is also going to be doing my make-up. It's been forever since I had my paint on... Which do you prefer?" He asked. This was something that he had been curious about for a while.

"H-Huh?" Tavros asked, blinking as he looked at him. "I'm confused..." He whispered.

"Do you like me better with or without the paint on my face?" He laughed.

He pouted. "I like it better without it." He smiled. "I like you naturally."

"I think it would probably feel really weird to have it on again. Either way, I was hoping you would want to come. Kanaya said she would make something nice for you too that isn't too Subjugglator like." Gamzee laughed. "I kinda miss seeing the paint get on you after sloppy makeouts..."

Tavros giggled and smiled. "I'd like that." He said.

"You'd like what?" The Capricorn asked, tilting his head. "Now, I'm confused..."

"To have Kanaya make me something." He smiled.

"Oh. That makes sense." He laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, let's head toward the zoo. I want to get there before too late." Gamzee turned the key and started the bus. Soon, they were on their way to the zoo for a well-deserved date.

Tavros looked out the window for a long time.

They finally arrived at the zoo. Gamzee had a huge grin on his face as he insisted on opening the door for Tavros. He held his hand out to help his matesprit get out of the bus. "My love."

Tavros blushed, stepping out of the car. "Aww..." he hummed softly, stepping with him.

The highblood took the brown blood's hand. "Today, your wish is my command." He smiled down at Tavros. Gamzee could feel the stares but he didn't care because Tavros was smiling and that was all that mattered to him.

Tavros and Gamzee walked around the zoo for a while. He sat down, feeling rather tired from all the walking.

"Do you want me to get you a wheelchair?" Gamzee asked, worried that Tavros may have somehow gotten hurt.

Tavros limped a little. "No." he said. "I'll be okay. Let me just walk for a little while longer." He smiled. "I promise I'm fine."

"Tav..." He whispered, worry showing through his features but he let Tavros do as he saw fit. "We'll go slow, okay?"

Tavros nodded. "I know." He said quietly, his body shaking a little as they continued to walk.

Gamzee kept and arm around Tavros' waist, ready to catch him if he fell. "Please Tav... Let me get you a chair."

Tavros shook his head. "I want to see the elephants." he said, walking down the little decline to go see them. He felt his muscles grow weak and he stumbled, catching himself on the wall.

Gamzee saw this, it was impossible to not have seen it. He picked Tavros up. "Either I'm carrying you or else I'm getting you a chair. Choose." He said sternly. "I'm not going to let yourself like this."

Tavros squirmed. "Gamzee please put me down..." He frowned. "I want to walk." He said. "I will be fine. I just need to sit for a minute is all okay?" He said, his voice stern.

"Tavros. You haven't been walking in a long time. It's okay to use the chair." He whimpered. "Please... I don't want you to get hurt..."

Tavros frowned. "Gamzee..." He said, looking at him. "Can I walk for a little longer? Then I'll get the chair."

He thought about it for a moment and then gently set Tavros back on the ground. "You have 10 minutes before I'm getting you a chair." Gamzee said.

Tavros nodded, sitting down on one of the rocks for a moment, fixing the socks that were supposed to be helping his leg be comfortable.

Gamzee watched as Tavros adjusted. 'Please Messiahs... Don't let him get hurt."

Tavros got up, having fixed the fit a little bit. "This is better."

Gamzee smiled softly watching Tavros stand by himself. "You know that I love you and that I worry about you."

"I know." Tavros replied, smiling. "I know you care about me, but when I say I'm fine, I'm fine."

He pulled him close. "I'm sorry. I just worry..."

Tavros smiled and leaned against him.

Gamzee smiled at him. "That should be enough resting for now... You need to tell me the moment that you start feeling tired."

Tavros nodded, getting up and walking a ways, looking at the animals, and grinning.

"Look at that huge fuc... Creature..." Gamzee corrected himself after seeing the small children around. "This feels weird..."

Tavros smiled, taking his hand. "It's kinda nice." He grinned, leaning on him for support.

"I was talking about the not cussing... That feels weird to me..." He laughed. "I like being on dates with you. Always have bro."

"I know." He smiled, taking a few steps forward.

They walked around for a few more minutes before Gamzee noticed Tavros' slow steps and slight panting. "Tav? You okay?"

"Yeah I'm just..." He whimpered. "Really tired." He said, letting out a sigh.

"How about we get you a chair now?" Gamzee smiled. "Does that sound okay?"

Tavros nodded carefully and sat down. "I'm exhausted..." He wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead.

"I'll be right back with a chair for ya." He leaned down kissing Tavros' forehead before running to go get a wheelchair. Quickly, he paid for it and brought it back to his matesprit. "Here ya go."

Tavros got inside it, settling down. He felt like a cripple again, letting out a soft sigh. He leaned back in the chair, looking up at Gamzee.

"Don't be sad Tav. We just need to go on more walks and then trips like this won't be a problem!" He smiled down at him, kissing his forehead again. "We'll work on it together."

Tavros nodded. The rest of the zoo seemed like a blast. They headed back home to the quiet house up in the mountains. Tavros clung to a new plushy. He got out of the car, wobbling inside.

"Highblood. We need you desperately."

"I told you not to bother me."

"But it has to do with the trials." Gamzee looked over at the Subjugglator.

"I'm sorry Tav. I'll try to make it quick." He apologized.

Tavros nodded. He watched him go.

What seemed like an hour had passed. He sighed and got up, hearing the phone ring.

"Highblood?" The Subjugglator asked the phone. "I need to speak with the Grand Highblood.

"Oh..." Tavros said, holding the phone. "Well he's in a meeting." He said, frowning.

"Is this Tavros? I really need to speak with the Highblood. There's been an accident..." He said.

"An accident? Oh noes...Uh..." He tapped his chin, sighing quietly as he walked towards where meetings were usually held. "I can try and get him for you..."

"Thank you." The Subjugglator said into the phone.

Gamzee stood in the hall, in front of his throne. He had never really wanted the throne but they insisted so he let them get it for him. "What do you mean you went on a lowblood hunt?"

"I'm sorry Highblood." The accused whimpered softly.

"HOW CAN I TRUST YOU WITH TAVROS IF YOU KILLED A FUCKING LOWBLOOD?" Gamzee yelled, gripping his spiked club in his hand.

Tavros walked up the flight of stairs leading to the throne room. He had to travel outside to get there. "Sorry it's taking so long," He said into the phone. "I don't do so hot with stairs and uh… There's a lot of them." He finally made it to the top and walked down the corridor, still holding the phone tightly in his hands.

What he walked in on, he would soon regret.


	52. Chapter 52

Gamzee was holding the spiked club in his hands, a young Subjugglator cowering in the corner, a big gash in the side of his head, blood and body matter dripping everywhere.

He made a soft gasping noise before he dropped the phone on the ground and turned and fled as fast as his legs would take him.

"Tavros? What are you..." Kairin whispered as he followed, knowing that Gamzee would be highly upset if something happened to Tavros.

Gamzee began to beat the Subjugglator over the head as he screamed about trust and taking care of loved ones. "DON'T THINK THAT LOWBLOODS ARE WORTHLESS!"

Tavros cringed at Gamzee's screaming. Tears streamed down his face. He felt the stairs beneath him, tumbling forward as he fell, hitting his head rather hard. "O-Ow..." He cringed, crying harder, sobbing softly, holding his head as he lay on the floor, rocking slightly.

Kairin stopped at the top of the stairs. "I'll go get Gamzee. Just stay there Tavros." He said softly before barging back into the great hall and yelling for Gamzee.

"What is it Kairin?" Gamzee growled, his face and hands covered in purple blood.

"Tavros fell down the stairs... He saw you discipline him, my lord."

"Fuck... No..." The Grand Highblood whispered as he ran out to his matesprit. "Tav!"

Tavros looked up at him, his eyes wide. "g-Gam-zee..." He sobbed, putting his face in his hands.

Gamzee had dropped his club before he had even left the hall but he was still covered in blood as he went down to Tavros. "Oh gog... Tav... I'm sorry... But I had to..." He whispered, getting slowly closer to his shivering matesprit.

Tavros looked up at him, giving him a harsh judgmental look as he continued crying. "Gamzee..." He whispered softly.

"Please let me hold you... I never wanted you to see that but..." He sighed, his voice shaking. "I couldn't let him live after finding out that he was going out and killing low bloods just because of their color... How am I supposed to be able to trust him to take care of you while I'm at Moon Rise if he's doing that?"

Tavros sniffed and cringed away from him a little bit, his hands wrapping them around himself. He couldn't find the words to describe what was happening. Gamzee was killing someone. Granted, yes... He was the leader of a very brutal race... But... Death? He never wanted to witness it. His stomach lurched. He coughed as his body got sick, the images filling his mind.

Gamzee crouched down by him, rubbing his back. "I'm sorry." Being the only words that could escape his lips. He got the sudden realization that Tavros might leave him because of the scene that he had just witnessed.

Tavros coughed and whimpered, sobbing softly. "G-gam...zee..."

"Please let me hold you Tav... I'm so sorry..." He whimpered, holding his arms out. "I'm so sorry." Translucent purple tears started to roll down his cheeks. "I'm sorry..."

Tavros stayed still. His stomach ached, his body hurting. He whimpered and rubbed his eyes feeling a sense of abandonment. He didn't want to move.

Gamzee slowly wrapped his arms around Tavros and picked him up gently. "No one is to bother us." He said softly as he walked to their room.

Tavros curled against him, sobbing into his chest as he was lifted into his room. After being set down on the bed, he grabbed the nearest thing, hugging it tightly.

Gamzee couldn't move with Tavros holding on that tight to him but he didn't care. He had scared Tavros beyond all belief and he felt horrible about doing so. He let his tears fall freely as he curled around the brown blood. "I'm so sorry..."

They sat like that for a long time. His body shook and shuddered as the images faded, and the pain in his stomach poofed. He breathed quietly, curling up into Gamzee's warmth.

"I'm so sorry..." He whispered over and over again, hoping and praying that Tavros wouldn't leave him.

He shifted, his body resting, breathing quietly. He wanted nothing more than to relax in this moment.

Gamzee ended up crying himself to sleep, fear rushing through his mind as he dreamed. He prayed that Tavros would be there when he woke up.

Hours passed. He felt his grip on Gamzee tighten in his sleep as he breathed quietly, curled up around Gamzee because he thought he was having a horrible nightmare.

Gamzee woke up with a start, his breathing quick and shallow. "Tav!" He screamed, attempting to sit up but something warm was keeping him down. He looked to see what was holding him and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Tavros, his Tavros.

The small brunette curled up with him, his arms wrapped tightly around him, his face buried in his chest.

"Gog... Tav, I'm so happy that you're still here." Gamzee whispered, wrapping his arms around the small troll. "You have no fucking idea how scared I was... I thought you were going to leave me..." The tears started to gather at the edge of the indigo blood's eyes. "I'm so sorry..."

Tavros muttered something softly, unable to be heard against his skin.

"I love you so much Tav." He whispered, not wanting to be very loud and scare Tavros again. Fear controlled his movements and he wondered how long it would take for Tavros to be comfortable with him again.

Tavros sniffled and nuzzled his stomach. "I love you too..." He whispered, his voice muffled by Gamzee's clothing.

Tears fell when he heard that. "I'm so sorry Tav... I'm sorry. I won't do it again." He whimpered, running his fingers through Tavros' hair.

Tavros shifted, looking up at Gamzee, Gamzee's tears dripping onto his cheeks. "Gamzee..." He whispered. He had never seen Gamzee cry before. He had always been so strong. He was strong. He had to be strong for him.

"I'm so sorry... I won't do it again..." He whimpered. "Please don't leave... I'll never do it again. Ever! I swear!"

"Gamzee..." He touched his chest, his palms flat against the surface. "I won't..." He whispered, rubbing his eyes. "I can't..."

* * *

><p>Karkat woke up, his body hurt and he could feel warmth on him. "Sollux... We need to wake up..."<p>

Sollux shifted. "Nnnn... But why..."

"Because our daughter will be home soon and I'd rather her not see us like this..." He said softly.

Sollux nodded. "Alright." he said, shifting as he sat up, holding Karkat close.

Karkat leaned his head against Sollux. "That was amazing..." He smiled, turning his head to kiss Sollux's shoulder. "I bet you had a good time..." He smirked.

Sollux nodded, wrapping his arms around him. "Yeth I did." He smirked. "Very, very much."

He snuggled against his matesprit. "I think I asked this before but just to make sure... Best birthday ever?"

"Yeth." He said, kissing the side of Karkat's head. "I thought I thaid that already."

"Just wanted to make sure." Karkat smiled softly. "I love you."

"Love you too. Leth go get drethed." Sollux said, grinning.

He smiled and followed behind Sollux. "I look like you were trying to eat me again..." He sighed dramatically. "I have a hard time believing that I'm really that delicious.."

"You are though." Sollux grinned.

"You've told me. Multiple times." Karkat grinned. "Hurry up. I'm cold." He said smacking Sollux's ass.

Sollux yelped and looked back at him, hurrying up the stairs.

'I didn't think that would actually work...' Karkat thought as he laughed and went up the stairs. "I'm sorry... But that was just too funny."

Sollux blushed. "Well you hit me." he pouted. It was so fake, he burst into a grin afterwards, searching for some clothing.

"Sollux! I had no idea that you liked BDSM." Karkat grinned.

"I-I..." He looked away. "I don't."

"Lies." He smirked. "You like it but you don't want me to know."

Sollux flushed bright yellow. "T-thtop teathing me..."

"But it's fun." Karkat pouted. "I love watching you blush."

Sollux pulled on some pants, watching him. "Ath do I." he said. "Watching you bluth."

His face turned a light purple. "Shut up."

Sollux laughed. "Thee?"

Karkat simply glared at the yellow blood. "You're lucky I love you."

Sollux glared back. "You bet."

Sighing, he pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms that had little crabs on them and one of the cancer shirts he hadn't worn in forever.

Sollux looked over at him, smiling. "Aww..."

Karkat's cellphone went off, signaling that he was being called. He picked it up off the desk. "Hello?"

"Hi Karkat! We were wondering if it was safe to bring Carmine home. She really misses you two." Feferi said as she played with Carmine's hair.

"Yeah. Bring her over." He smiled, looking up at Sollux.

Sollux smiled. "Yup!" he said, "Hi Feferi. Motht amathing birthday prethent ever." He laughed. "Thank you!"

The Cancer's face turned bright purple.

"You're welcome Sollux!" Feferi laughed.

"Will you both just shut up!" Karkat growled.

"KK, thut up you liked it too." he said, grinning, smacking his rear as he walked by.

He squeaked and jumped at the random hit. "Bring her back as quickly as you can, Feferi. She's probably the only thing keeping me from strangling him..." He glared as Sollux walked out of the room.

"10 minutes." She said before hanging up the phone.

Sollux walked back down into the kitchen, starting on cleaning the mess that had been made on the kitchen floor.

Karkat walked downstairs. "Want some help?" He asked, seeing Sollux start to clean.

"I can do it." He said, grinning. "I made thith meth, tho I can do it."

"It wasn't only you..." He blushed. "I helped..."

"I know." He grinned. "But I want to do it. Thinthe I never think to do anything around here." he pouted. "Jutht let me do it."

"Fine." He sighed. "Come to the living room when you get done. I want to cuddle..."

Sollux worked quickly, cleaning up the floor before heading into the living room. "Mmmm come here."

Karkat held his arms out for Sollux to crawl into. "I'm comfy, so I'm not moving."

Sollux crawled onto the couch, laying over him. "Mmm... You're warm."

"You are too." He smiled, wrapping his thin arms around the other. "I feel like I should be worried about my birthday now..." He laughed, running his fingers through Sollux's hair.

* * *

><p>Gamzee's bloodpusher skipped a beat. Was Tavros only with him because he took care of him? No. That couldn't be right. Tavros loved him. "You could... You almost did... I'm so sorry..." He started to curl up around Tavros, just wanting to be held.<p>

Tavros felt himself become completely surrounded by Gamzee. "Gamzee..." He pushed his face back against him, blushing. "It's okay..." He whispered, curling up against him. "I promise... I will be okay. You… You were just doing what you had to as leader and I just need to understand that."

"I can explain... I didn't want to kill him but I had to..." Gamzee whimpered. "I couldn't let him get away with what he did..."

"What did he do?" He asked, frowning.

"He was supposed to be one of the ones to help take care of you while I'm at Moon Rise on the island. Kairin found him covered in the blood of at least 10 low bloods... He would have hurt you and I got so angry." He shivered as he thought about the colors that had been on the Subjugglator. "I ordered them all to stop killing but he did and there was brown and... Gog, I was just so angry that he did that..."

Tavros frowned. "I don't think he deserves to die though..." He said, frowning. "It could have been an accident?"

"No. It was cold blood. He admitted it..." Gamzee shook his head. "He wanted them to die... I honestly didn't mean to kill him though... I was just so angry because he said he wanted low bloods to die... The two most important people to me are... Well, Karbro isn't a lowblood now but the most important troll to me is a lowblood and I won't let you get hurt."

"Sollux is a low blood too." He said softly, his voice quiet. "I'm just... I'm sorry that they did that... I'm sorry that people are just mean and horrible."

"I know but you matter more to me than he does. Plus, I'm still mad at that fucker." He sighed. "I'm sorry too because it's trolls like you, sweet and innocent trolls that have to be afraid of being killed by stupid motherfuckers like him..." Gamzee pulled Tavros a little closer. "I just want to keep you safe."

"I know." He leaned up, kissing what he could of Gamzee's chest. He nuzzled him. "Oh, someone called from the island earlier. They wanted to speak with you... That's why I came in to get you."

"Oh... They'll call back..." Gamzee murmured. "I completely ruined our date day... I'm sorry Tav... I really wanted it to be special..."

"It's alright." He said softly, his cheeks flushed brown. "We can always have another date night." he said, looking up at him with big brown eyes. "Okay?"

The Capricorn nodded. "Sounds like a plan." Gamzee started to feel the exhaustion wash over him. "What do you want to do now? The day isn't over yet and you still have say on whatever we do."

Tavros frowned. "Uh..." He frowned. "I'd like to get uh.. Something to drink. My stomach hurts." he said. he coughed a little, his throat sore from being sick.

Gamzee shifted, reaching over to the desk and pushing a button. "Tav wants something to drink." He said after a beep. "Bring us some juice." He scooted back over to Tavros. "I don't feel like getting up."

Tavros nodded. "That's fine... I don't either." he admitted, biting his lip.

"You are still scared of me aren't you?" He whimpered. "Why are you scared of me? I would never hurt you."

Tavros looked up at him, frowning. "Gamzee I'm not afraid of you."

"You keep biting your lip and I know that you do that when you are nervous..." Gamzee said softly.

He sighed quietly. "Am I not allowed to be nervous that... I just saw you kill someone." he whispered that last part, hoping that Gamzee didn't hear it.

"It's been happening for a while Tav... The only time you haven't been is when we are cuddling or earlier on our date... Other than that, you're always biting your lip and looking from side to side as if expecting me or one of the Subjugglators to hurt you..." He said softly. "I know you saw me kill someone and I know that's why you're nervous now but... You're always nervous around me... It makes me think that I scare you..."

Tavros let out a soft sigh. "I..." He had to be honest with him. "I'm just nervous because I've seen your anger before. I know you'd never hurt me... But I just get anxious when there are a lot of tall people around me. I'm really small, Gamzee. Without my legs I'm about the size of your torso... It's intimidating. I love you, and you know that." he whispered, his voice soft, his eyes welling up with tears. "I know the Subjugglators are here to protect me too, but I don't know any of them as well as I know you... It's not like we bond or anything."

"Please don't cry! I know that you're scared of them and I'm sorry that I'm forcing you to live with them but I'm their king... There's not much I can do about it unless I get killed and we both don't want that." Gamzee said, gently wiping the tears from Tavros' eyes. "I know you love me and you know that I love you. I'm scared that you're getting even more scared of me and not going to want to be with me anymore..." He admitted softly. "That's my worse fear..."

"G-Gamzee I could never not love you." He said, wrapping his arms around Gamzee as tightly as he could. "Gamzee I love you so much... You... You understand me and it's all I could ever ask for."

The indigo blood felt relief wash over him. Tavros wouldn't stop loving him because of his status and that made him happy. "I love you too Tavros."

Tavros smiled He hugged him tightly, squeezing him gently.

"What we do for the rest of the night is up to you, Tav." Gamzee smiled, running his fingers

through the Mohawk.

Tavros blushed. "I… I uh don't know." he said, squirming around in the bed.

"Well... We could cuddle." He suggested.

Tavros smiled. "But we do that all the time."

"So? Do you have a problem with cuddling with me all the time?" Gamzee asked playfully. "I thought you liked cuddling."

"I don't." he said, leaning up and kissing him gently. "Maybe we can go snuggle in the library. I

really want to start spending more time in there."

"I like that idea." Gamzee smiled. "I'm glad you like it... I painted it when I was supposed to be in some of the meetings... Sorry for lying but I wanted to paint it myself."

Tavros smiled. "It's really okay." He said, grinning. "I really, really like it!"

The taller troll shifted, bringing Tavros into his arms. "I'm carrying you and you have no say on the matter." He smirked as he crawled off the bed.

Tavros shifted detaching his legs, scooting across the bed to Gamzee.

Gamzee picked him up. "Ready?"

Tavros nodded. "Yup!"

After a few minutes of walking, they ended up in Tavros' library. "I don't know how much you got to explore but there is a little cave like area over in the far corner. It's cushioned and perfect for cuddling..."

"Whoa AWESOME!" Tavros said, squirming a bit in his arms, craning his neck to see. "That's so cool"

Gamzee carried him over to the area. "There is a call button over here." He pointed to the bright yellow button on the cave wall. "And this is where your wheelchair goes, in case you bring it. Also, if you turn the lights out, something magical happens."

"Something... Magical?" Tavros asked, his eyes getting wide. "w-What is it?"


	53. Chapter 53

"Hit that switch right there." Gamzee pointed to the switch as they sat down. He smiled as Tavros did and the small lights he had put into the ceiling turned on, making it look like the night sky. "There is a blackout curtain on the window so you can do this at any time during the day."

Tavros gasped. "W-Woah..." He whimpered, looking up at them. "That's... So... Cool."

Gamzee smiled, knowing that he had done good. "I'm glad you like it. In a couple minutes, you should be able to see the fairies..." A few minutes passed and small lights on that were in the bookshelves and walls started to flicker and dance. There were even a couple in the cave itself.

Tavros's jaw dropped. "Oh my gog Gamzee!" he clung to him tightly, so super excited by this. "Oh gog yes."

The Capricorn kissed the top of the Taurus' head. "I'm so happy you like it." He whispered. "Do you want to keep the lights off while we cuddle?"

Tavros nodded. "Yes." He said, curling up against him. "This... This is wonderful." he said, grinning.

Gamzee wrapped his arms around Tavros. "I love you so much Tav." He whispered.

Tavros smiled, watching the lights. It made him so happy.

Relaxation set in his muscles and sleep invaded his mind. Gamzee fell asleep with his horns touching the wall behind him. Soft snores and murmurs escaped as he slept.

Tavros watched the sprites dance around the walls of the cave and around the library as he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Sollux kissed his neck, mumbling soft against the skin. "I love you."<p>

"I love you too." Karkat whispered. "So much. My Honey Bee."

"Aww..." He leaned against him, kissing his neck and jaw gently. "Thame." he grinned.

"Sollux. Stop. Carmine is on her way home." He sighed. "You are such a pervert."

"Mmmm..." He nuzzled his cheek with his head. "But... But..."

"But nothing. She's on her way home." Karkat shook his head. "So not now."

Sollux pouted. "Fine." He said, slumping against him, closing his eyes.

"You act like a wriggler sometimes." He laughed, running his fingers through his hair again. "You know I love you."

"I'm thorry." he muttered, curling up against him. He didn't want to move. He was quite content, curled up with his lover.

"It's fine, Love." He whispered, sleep threatening to take over but the door bell rang before it could. "Is the door unlocked?"

"It ith." He said, rubbing his eyes. "Or rather it ith now." He used his powers to unlock the door. He didn't want to get up.

Karkat put his hands over Sollux's ears. "Come in!" He yelled.

Carmine came running inside and jumped on the two of them. "Mommy! Daddy!" She smiled.

"Hey Bumblebee! Did you have fun with Aunt Feferi?" Karkat asked, patting her head.

Sollux wrapped his arms around her. "You are adorable." He said, grinning.

She nodded her head quickly.

"You'll never guess what Daddy told me he wanted, Carmine." Karkat whispered.

She crawled a little closer to him. "What?"

"He said that he wants lots of Carmine hugs." He smiled. "So you should do that."

Carmine's smile brightened as she snuggled down with Sollux. "I love you Daddy!"

Sollux smiled, holding her close. "Aww, I love you too." He grinned and nuzzled her hair.

Carmine looked up at Sollux, her heterochromatic eyes shining. "Good birfday?" She asked softly. "No fightth?"

"No fights." Karkat smiled, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. "Daddy had a very nice birthday. Right Sollux?"

Sollux blushed dark yellow. "Betht birthday." He grinned. "Ever."

"Yay!" The little psionic squealed and huged him tighter.

Karkat just smiled and laughed, playing with the hair of both of the psionics. "I love you two."

"And we love you too, KK." he smiled, settling back against him.

Carmine giggled and nodded. "Mommy!" She smiled hugging Karkat too.

Karkat hoped that things would stay this easy as Carmine grew.

* * *

><p>Tavros stirred, being sore from laying against Gamzee all night. He shifted, rubbing his eyes as he woke up. "Nnnn..." He hummed softly.<p>

Gamzee shifted, still asleep. A soft snore escaped his lips as he turned his head to the other side.

Tavros looked back at him, shifting so he could lie on his stomach against Gamzee. He was warm and comfortable. He hadn't realized how warm he had been until he moved. "Mmm..." He shivered against Gamzee, trying to steal more of his warmth.

Unconsciously, Gamzee pulled Tavros closer, almost hitting himself with the other's horns. "Ngh..." He mumbled as he curled up beside his matesprit.

Tavros whimpered and leaned against him, curling himself up into a ball against his stomach and chest.

"Tav... You're digging your leg into my stomach..." He said softly, his eyes still closed.

"S-Sorry!" He moved his leg away, shifting. "I.. I didn't mean to wake you." He said quietly.

"It's fine." He said softly, kissing Tavros' cheek. "It's more effective when you wake me up."

Tavros blushed and looked up at him. "Is it?" he asked softly.

"Yeah. When they try to wake me up, I almost always fall right back asleep because you are still asleep and I don't want to wake you..." Gamzee smiled, blushing softly. "You look adorable when you sleep."

"Aww..." He couldn't help but put a little excitement in his voice. "That's... Really cute."

"Speaking of them waking me up... I'm probably being searched for..." He laughed. "I'm going to stay here until they find me... If they find me."

Tavros smiled. "Is that a good idea though?" He asked, his cheeks dark.

"I don't really care if it is or isn't a good idea. I'm staying here until they make me leave." He pulled Tavros closer. "No one can stop me."

Tavros smiled, leaning up and gently kissing him.

Gamzee smiled into the kiss. It wasn't often that Tavros kissed him first and so he felt that these moments were even more special than the ones where he was the one leading everything.

Tavros leaned into the kiss, his cheeks growing hot, quickly. He pulled back. "S-Sorry..."

"It's fine Tav. You know that I like kissing you." He smiled softly. "Plus, it's not very often that you kiss me first."

Tavros blushed. "I uh..." he shivered. "I like kissing."

"I'm glad. I do too." He chuckled a little. "Is there something resting in your think pan, Tav? You're acting all nervous again..."

Tavros nuzzled close to him. "Not much." he said, smiling. "Just loving you."

Gamzee wrapped his arms around the smaller troll. "I love you too, Tav." He whispered, stroking his hair.

"I love you too." He said softly, his smile brightening. "So much."

Gently, Gamzee kissed Tavros' cheek. "Wanna see something cool that this cave does?"

Tavros nodded quickly. "Yes" he said, grinning widely.

"Hold on tight to me okay?" Gamzee asked, putting one arm around Tavros and reaching up with the other.

Tavros got a small bit of fear in his eyes but nodded, grabbing onto him tightly, holding on as tight as he could.

Gamzee pressed the stone looking button and the bench turned in the wall. They ended up in Gamzee's secret room. He had a way into the room through their bedroom but he wanted to show Tavros how to find him. "This." He said quietly. "Is my private room."

Tavros looked around. "W-Woah..."

Around the room, there were multiple juggling clubs hanging from the wall as well as paintings of all the ancestors. In the corner of the room was a full sized bed with Indigo sheets and blankets. "You're welcome here whenever you want. The doors are too small for any of the Subjugglators besides me."

Tavros smiled brightly. "I will." He said, grinning. "Thank you for showing me this."

"There's an extra wheelchair right there. Just in case you need it..." He smiled softly. "I thought it would make you feel a little better about having to live with us..."

"Awwww..." He blushed and clung to him, curling up in his arms. "Gamzee I love you so much. You have no idea."

"I love you too." He nuzzled his face into Tavros' hair. "I would do anything for you."

Tavros shifted a little. "Would the Subjugglators ever find you here?" he asked softly.

"Nope." Gamzee smiled a shit-eating grin. "They can't get in here."

He blushed. This was a sort of private moment. He leaned up and kissed him, before pulling back, turning dark brown, his cheeks flushed.

"You're so adorable Tav. Especially when you turn all brown on me." His smiled went from shit-eating grin to a happy smile.

Tavros got even darker, his face getting even hotter as he looked away. "A-Awww..."

Gamzee gently cupped Tavros' face in his hands. "So motherfucking adorable." He kissed his nose softly before pulling back, a lazy smile on his lips.

Tavros smiled, kissing him back, feeling an emotion stir in his stomach.

He kissed back, being sure to not hit their horns together. He pulled back a little, his hands still on either side of the other's face. "I love you so much Tav."

He didn't reply. Instead he kissed him again, shifting around a bit. "Gamzee." He said when he pulled back. "Can we go lay on the bed?"

"Of course Tav." Gamzee smiled softly, getting up from the bench and walking over to the bed, Tavros nestled in his arms. Carefully, he maneuvered so that they were both lying comfortably on the bed.

Tavros leaned against him, purring quietly. "Mmmm..." He looked up, leaning up to kiss him again.

Gamzee kissed him softly. He wondered why Tavros kept kissing him, it wasn't like him to be so... Forward.

Tavros blushed and pulled back. "I-I'm sorry..." he whispered, looking away.

"Don't apologize Tav. We're matesprits. Kissing is kinda part of the deal." He smiled, kissing his matesprit's cheek gently. "Plus I told you that I like it when you kiss me."

"I know." he said, snuggling against him. "I love you for it. So much." he grinned.

"Tav kisses are the best kisses." Gamzee grinned, curling up around Tavros.

Tavros smiled and snuggled against him. "I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed his nose again. "So sweet and all mine. The Mirthful Messiahs must favor me with all these motherfucking blessings that they have been giving me and shit."

Tavros smiled brightly and kissed him again before nuzzling into his chest.

"Mmmmmmmm." He hummed as he ran his hands over Tavros' soft hair. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have this miracle of a troll all to himself.

Tavros felt hair be touched and it relaxed him. He closed his eyes, falling asleep.

Gamzee smiled and hummed a Subjugglator lullaby as he watched Tavros sleep. He was excited that the recuperacoon that he had ordered for him was coming in the next day. "I promise that the nightmares will go away..."

A little while later, Tavros stirred, rubbing his eyes. "Nnn... Did I fall asleep?"

He nodded. "And it was motherfucking adorable."

"Nnn..." He looked up at Gamzee. "Sorry..."

"It's fine. Just having you here is enough for this motherfucker to be happy." Gamzee smiled his lazy smile.

Tavros smiled and snuggled up to him, he felt anxious. He felt as if Gamzee was being nice to him to counteract the anger he probably felt inside for Tavros bursting in on his meetings. He let out a shuddered sigh and leaned against him, listening to his heartbeat.

Gamzee could tell that there was something wrong. Tavros was being more cuddly than usual and was actually kissing him first. "Tav..." He whispered, kissing the top of his lover's head. His mind kept running over ideas of what was wrong. Was it their relationship or the fact that Tavros felt like he couldn't leave Gamzee? Maybe it was the fact that he had killed someone and Tavros had walked in on it. He sighed. 'I really fucked up big time...'

"Hmm?" He hummed, looking up at him with big brown eyes.

"I just can't get over how adorable you are." He smiled softly, pulling him closer. "How did I get so lucky for you to love me?"

"Awww, Gamzee." He smiled and leaned into his warmth. "You're so kind."

The phone started to ring. "Fuck..." He pouted, stretching a little and grabbing the phone. "Hello?"

"Grand Highblood?"

"Yes. What do you want?"

"The American Military has requested to come and investigate our island. Should we allow them to?"


	54. Chapter 54

"I see no problem with it just as long as no one starts killing anyone. I don't want death." Gamzee answered. "If they attack, retreat into the caves."

Tavros blinked and looked at him with big brown eyes. What was happening?

"But Highblood, it is our custom to attack back and never retreat." The Subjugglator said.

"I don't fucking care. You will do as I say and I said to motherfucking retreat to the caves if they attack. Am I understood?" Gamzee growled, petting Tavros' head. Tavros being there was the only thing that was keeping him from yelling at the Subjugglator.

"Yes Highblood."

Tavros looked at him with scared eyes. He wanted nothing more than to help Gamzee... And to make him happy.

Gamzee hung up the phone. "Fuck..." He sighed and pulled Tavros close to him. He buried his face in the soft brown-black hair of his matesprit.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice muffled against Gamzee's shirt. "Is everything okay?"

"American military wants to investigate the island. They wanted to know what to do. But then that fucking... Ugh. He started to question me because I said not to attack. Fuck me for not wanting bloodshed." He glared at the wall. "I just need some Tav cuddles and I'll be fine."

Tavros wrapped his arms around Gamzee tightly, holding him close. "I'm here."

"I know. I love you Tav. You keep me sane." He smiled softly, leaning down and kissing him gently.

Tavros kissed him back gently, his mouth parting slightly. He wanted Gamzee to kiss him deeper.

Gamzee did just that, softly pushing his tongue against Tavros' lips. 'I hope this is what he wants.'

Tavros slid his own tongue against Gamzee's gently, making a soft whimpering noise as he did so.

Slowly, he slid his hands down to Tavros' hips, pushing their bodies closer together.

Tavros gasped softly, his mouth parting as he moaned quietly against him.

Gamzee ground his hips against Tavros' in an attempt to get him to make that spine-tingling noise again. He gently sucked on his bottom lip, pulling back with a small pop.

Tavros moaned a bit louder this time, moving his hips up against Gamzee's. He knew what was happening. He whimpered and leaned into the kissing, gently nibbling Gamzee's lip.

Gamzee pulled back, panting softly. "Tav... We don't have to... Go further if you don't want..." He got the feeling that he was pushing this on Tavros and didn't want that.

Tavros shook his head, pushing his lips back against Gamzee's his hands moving to Gamzee's chest, pulling him back against him.

Excitement and pleasure brought shivers up Gamzee's spine. Besides the one time he was drunk, Tavros never did stuff like this. He ran his hands up Tavros' back, pushing their bodies closer. He sucked gently on the Taurus' tongue, the sounds coming from him turning him on even more and making his blood rush. This was better than any drug that he had ever done.

Tavros pulled back after a moment. "G-Gamzee..." he whispered, looking up at him with big eyes.

"S-sorry... We can stop." He maneuvered so his head was on Tavros' shoulder and his horns on either side of one of the other's. "Sorry... I didn't mean to push it on you..."

"No..." He whispered, shifting his hips. "I... I want it." He blushed hot. "I... I think it would make you feel better..." he whispered.

"I don't need sex to feel better. I just need you here." Gamzee whispered, gently kissing his neck. "All I need is you."

"Gamzee." He blushed and looked up at him, shivering from the kisses. "P-Please?"

He nodded, careful not to hit Tavros with his horns as he started to kiss his neck more. "Can I leave a mark?" He asked softly.

Tavros nodded quickly, shifting slightly as he watched him. "Y-Yeah."

He sucked on the skin gently but hard enough to leave a brown bruise. He ran his tongue over it, his hands starting to explore over Tavros' body.

Tavros whimpered and let Gamzee's hands wander over him. He shivered and relaxed, his own hands running over Gamzee's chest.

He shifted so that he was on top of Tavros, looking down at him, lust and passion in his eyes while his curly hair fell around his face. Impatient fingers slipped under Tavros' shirt, pulling at it gently.

Tavros lifted his hands over his head, being careful not to brush his horns as he did so.

Gamzee pulled the shirt off carefully, used to working around the other's horns. Once it was discarded, he leaned down, laying trails of soft kisses along his collarbone and down his chest.

Tavros let out a shaky sigh. "G-Gamzee... T-that feels good." he whispered.

"Good." He smiled, pulling away slightly before going back to work and swirling his tongue around his nipple.

"A-Aaah!" He gasped out, his voice soft. "Nnnnnn..." He shuddered in delight, his body reacting quickly to the pleasure. He could feel his shorts growing tight. "Gamzee..." He knew the sheath was opening.

He brought his mouth around it and sucked gently, his hands moving down to dispose of the offending shorts. His sheath was opening as well but he could keep his under control a little better than Tavros could.

Tavros whimpered and wriggled out of the shorts, his breath coming in short pants and gasps. There was something about all of this that was exciting.

Gamzee ran his hands along Tavros' thighs, feeling the skin get goosebumps as he continued to suck on the nipple. He moved his attention to the other, wanting to pleasure Tavros as much as he could.

Tavros whimpered, feeling his bonebulge slip out of the sheath, wrapping around Gamzee's hand as he shuddered in delight.

Gamzee turned his hand slightly, his palm on the bonebulge as his finger slipped into the nook of his love.

Tavros gasped out. "G-Gamzee!" He looked down at him, his eyes wide. "O-Oh gog I-I wasn't expecting that." He used his hand to stifle a moan, his eyes closing tight as he felt Gamzee's finger move inside him. "Nn."

He smiled against his chest, brushing the sensitive flesh with his tongue before pulling back slightly. "I know that you like when I do this." He said softly, kissing the hand over Tavros' mouth.

Tavros shivered and looked at him again, his cheeks feeling like they were on fire. "G-Gamzee..." he whispered. "Y-you're too good to me."

"You're better." Gamzee said bluntly, moving the finger a little faster. "Just let me know when you want more."

Tavros nodded, his hands fumbling back to Gamzee's chest, gently pulling at his shirt.

"Which do you want more? My shirt to come off or another finger?" He asked, running his tongue along the other's collarbone.

"w-Wh..." He looked at him. "I... Uh... Uh..." He nibbled his bottom lip. "An-another uh..."

Gamzee nodded and gently pushed another finger inside. He smirked as Tavros gasped under his touch. So maybe he had a little bit of a superiority complex when it came to this...

"G-Gamzee..." He whimpered, his hands shaking as he reached out, holding onto him. He could feel his bulge wrap tighter around Gamzee's hand.

Gamzee vaguely wondered if their ancestors were in a quadrant but was quickly brought back to reality as he heard the sweet moan from his matesprit. Gog that sound, Tavros' voice calling his name like that, was better than any sound he had ever heard in his life.

He whimpered softly. "G-Gamzee I want you." he said quietly, his words muffled by his hand.

He nodded and pulled his fingers out. "Help me get these fucking clothes off." He moaned, grinding his hips against Tavros.

Tavros pulled at Gamzee's shirt, trying to pull it up over his head.

Gamzee helped by leaning over so Tavros could pull it off. He was glad that his horns went straight up. Once the shirt was gone, he sat on his knees, unzipping his pants and pulling them down over his hips, exposing his bonebulge as it started to emerge. Shifting once more, he kicked the pants onto the floor.

Tavros watched him with anticipation, moving a little, spreading his thighs apart.

His bonebulge revealed itself, showing the thick, indigo length.

Tavros whimpered and looked at him, his eyes wide. "O-Oh gog..." It had been a while, he thought.

His pushed his fingers back inside for a moment before pulling them out and pushing his bulge in.

Tavros gasped out, his hand covering his mouth. "O-Oh gog."

"Tav!" Gamzee moaned shifting his hips back. "Aaahn."

Tavros whimpered and clung to him tightly, moving his body in time with Gamzee's his hands fumbling to grab hold of Gamzee's shoulders.

It was amazing how much easier everything became the more times they did this. Gamzee could feel Tavros moving with him and it felt amazing. He leaned down and gently kissed his cheek. "I love you." He whispered as he thrust.

Tavros nodded his head. "I… I love you too." he whispered, gasping and whimpering with every thrust.

Gamzee moved his hand against Tavros' bulge, he wanted Tavros to scream his name. Gradually, he began to thrust harder. He hoped it felt good to Tavros.

Tavros cried out, digging his nails into Gamzee's shoulders. "G-Gamzee!"

The sound of Tavros crying out his name was pure ecstasy to Gamzee. He put his arm under Tavros' hips, shifting him up a little as he continued to thrust. He was pushing deeper than he had ever done before and from the sounds coming from his matesprit, it felt good.

Tavros whimpered, feeling his bulge shift around Gamzee's bulge, stretching out as it gently brushed against the edge of Gamzee's nook.

"Oh gog... Tav..." He whimpered softly. "You can..."

Tavros nodded, whimpering as he felt the tip of his bulge sink itself into Gamzee's nook, his own body shuddering with delight as it pushed in further.

Every thrust of Gamzee's hips pushed his bulge further into Tavros and brought the other's bulge further into his own nook. He moaned as he brought his hips forward and then back.

Tavros let out moan and a shudder. "G-Gam... Zee..." He whimpered and shuddered, shivering in anticipation as he felt his body release.

Gamzee's climax wasn't far behind. He moaned against Tavros' shoulder. "Tav... Gog..." He whimpered, feeling his bonebulge start to retract slowly. "Tavros." He whispered, kissing his cheek gently.

Tavros curled up around Gamzee, holding onto him tightly, whimpering softly. "That was amazing..." he said, his voice soft.

Gamzee nodded. "That's because you're amazing Tav." He kissed his cheek again. "You always have been a motherfucking miracle."

"A-Awww..." He blushed and smiled. "T-That's so sweet of you!" He grinned and snuggled close, feeling tired once again. "Nnnn..."

The phone rang again. "I don't want to answer it." Gamzee pouted, kissing Tavros' nose. "I don't want to get up. You're so warm."

"Aww... Well it might be important..." He said quietly, frowning. "You know?"

"I know but they'll make me leave and I don't want to." He pouted. "And we both know that you don't want me to leave."

"Awww. I know. But you know, I can have you any time at all." he smiled brightly and kissed his cheek. "So go ahead and answer it."

"I know but you never call for me to come running back to you and trust me, I would if you wanted that." He said softly before picking up the phone. "What do you want Kairin?"


	55. Chapter 55

"There is someone coming to see you. He is apparently very important to the humans. What should we do Highblood?"

"What time will they be here?"

"In about 3 hours."

"Call Kanaya and ask if she has finished with the thing yet and then tell her to bring it here."

"Yes Highblood."

Tavros sat up and looked over at him. "What...?" he blinked and looked at him with big eyes. Something was going on and he didn't know what it was.

Gamzee hung up the phone and flopped back onto the bed. "I'm getting a visitor... Kairin is going to call Kanaya and ask if she's finished with my clothes because we all know she would kill me if I wore something that she didn't approve of to meet a diplomat..." He sighed. "I would much rather stay here with you but Kanaya will be here in an hour and then I have to get ready and talk to the 'lators about manners and shit." He turned over and pulled Tavros close to him. "So let's just stay like this until I have to go. Okay?"

Tavros nodded, snuggling up to him. "I like that idea." he said, shifting a bit so he could get closer to him.

Gamzee fought with sleep while he waited for Kanaya to get to the house. His phone rang and he was informed of her arrival. "I have to go Tav. I love you." He whispered, pulling his pants back on before picking his shirt off the ground and handing it to Tavros. "Here. Wear this." Gamzee smiled, handing him the Capricorn shirt. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Tavros nodded and watched him go, pulling the shirt on over his head. He curled up on the bed in Gamzee's secret room, falling asleep.

Gamzee walked into the throne room and smiled lazily when he saw Kanaya. "Hey Sis. How are you?"

Kanaya smiled and bowed her head. "I suppose you may say that i am well, Gamzee." She said, her voice soft and polite. "I have finished your outfit."

"Awesome. I can't motherfucking wait to try it on!" He smiled as he walked over. "I bet it looks spooktacular."

Kanaya handed him a wardrobe bag. "The outfit is inside. I based it on your measurements that i took the last time i saw you. You don't seem as if you have changed much, so I'm hoping it still fits. I made a little something for Tavros in there too. Something more of his colors. Purple doesn't suit him very well." She smiled and bowed her head, taking a step back.

"You don't have to act all formal like Sis. We're all family!" Gamzee laughed, taking the bag. "Tav will be excited but I'm pretty sure he's asleep right now..."

"I am aware that we are somehow related, but since I am speaking with a king such as yourself is it not right of me to be kind of you?" she smiled and held out her hand to him. "I would like to see this outfit on you soon. Just in case I have to make emergency changes."

"Fine. But just know that you don't have to go all up and treat me any more special just because I'm a king." He smiled, taking her hand. "I'll be right back with this wicked outfit on." He went into the small room off to the side and changed there. A few moments later he walked out in the new outfit. It fit perfectly. "This is motherfucking wicked, Sis!"

Kanaya smiled at her handiwork. "You look wonderful Gamzee." She said, smiling brightly, her fangs glittering in the light. "I'm glad you like it so much."

"Can you do my face for me Kanaya? I don't know if I can do something Grand Highblood like... I'm used to my clown stuff..."

"Yes." She smiled. "I have studied the past style of the Subjugglators, and I will paint as I see it." she smiled and walked up to him, gently putting her hand on his arm. "Show me to somewhere that I can do this for you."

"Thanks. There is the small room that I changed in over here. The light should be good enough to do it in there." Gamzee smiled, leading her to the room.

She set down her bag, pulling out the makeup she would need. She dabbed his face clean with a cloth and started. Before long she had his face painted in a scary, intimidating mask. "Does this look okay?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Mirthful Motherfucking Messiahs... I look fucking scary as hell!" He smiled. "It looks fucking amazing Sis! Thanks!"

She smiled. "You're welcome. You will really have to scrub to get that off. I would avoid speaking with Tavros until you have finished your meeting. I'm sure it would scare him greatly."

Gamzee nodded. "Yeah... I feel really bad about making him live around a bunch of Subjugglators when he was raised to be scared of them..." He admitted. "But I can't just leave him by himself!"

"I am sure one day he will understand and he will grow to love all of you." he smiled. "Tavros is a very forgiving person."

"He is. He even forgave me after I killed someone..." He whispered. "Tav walked in on me punishing a Subjugglator who disobeyed my orders..."

"Oh no..." She frowned. "Is he alright?" She looked genuinely concerned. "He's so fragile..."

"He said he's fine. He fell down the stairs but nothing was broken and we talked about it." Gamzee sighed. "He said he understands that I'm a ruler and that it's part of being a ruler but... I tried to keep him from the meetings and he came in when I got an important call. I feel so bad... I still can't believe that he still loves me even though he saw that..."

"Perhaps while you are in your meeting I should speak with him?" she asked, smiling. "Would that be alright with you?" She couldn't help it, but her mediating senses were showing.

"One, he's in my private room and two, he's asleep... And covered in hickies..." Gamzee looked toward the ground, his face turning a light purple. "I don't think he's dressed besides in my shirt..."

"I can look past those things. Besides, I'm sure you're shirt covers him quite well enough." She smiled. "Let me speak with him. I'll even wait until he wakes up."

"Thanks Kanaya." Gamzee smiled, sitting on the small bench. "He's so good to me and I've put him through so much. I feel bad about all of it."

"It will all be alright." She smiled at him. "Okay?" She patted his shoulder. "Your meeting I'm sure will go fine, and things will return to normal. I know that the weeks of murder are coming up on your island... I am concerned for the wellbeing of Tavros staying here in this house. How do you plan to keep him safe?"

"I have selected 3 Subjugglators who are too young for Moon Rise to be desensitized to it and stay here with him. Sollux has also agreed to help take care of him." He told her. "He won't be on the island at all.. I'll be gone for two weeks."

"I see." She said softly, tapping her chin. "I also offer my abilities to help out here. Will you be subjected to the lust of Moon Rise?" she asked, blinking at him.

He nodded. "Thanks for making all of the dummies for it too. And for filling them with paint." He smiled softly. "I'm glad no one will have to die because of this..."

She smiled even brighter. "You're welcome. I'm always one for helping to make sure that death will not occur." She heard a noise from the distance. "I believe your meeting will be starting soon, won't it?" she asked, blinking at him slowly. "If you would, let me know where it is that I can find Tavros, and I will talk with him while you engage in kingly stuff."

"I have time to take you there." He smiled, leading her from the throne room to his bedroom. "This is mine and Tav's room. That book case over there has a fairytale of Alternia book and that's the way to get in." Gamzee said, pointing toward the book shelf. "He should still be on the bed. Thanks Sis. This means a lot to me."

She smiled and nodded at him. "Good luck alright?" She said, patting his shoulder as she strolled over to the bookshelf, pulling on the book as it opened the passageway. Inside, Tavros was curled up under the covers.

Tavros stirred lightly, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning Tavros. Did you sleep well?" Kanaya asked.

Tavros looked over. "O-Oh hi Kanaya."

* * *

><p>Gamzee went back to the throne room, waiting patiently for his guest to arrive. He sighed, putting his elbow on the arm rest and setting his chin on his hand. He was bored and wanted nothing more than to be cuddling with his Tavros.<p>

The Subjugglator guards led in what looked to be a high up government official surrounded by several strong looking men, who seemed uneasy, since their weapons had been taken away from them. "Mr. Makara." the man said, his voice low and clear. "My name is Scott Oaks." He rattled on about his position in the government for a moment. "I have been sent here to introduce myself and to speak with you regarding your island."

"What about my island?" Gamzee said. He had gotten so used to speaking Alternian again that his English had a little bit of an accent.

"We would like to investigate what exactly it is that you are preparing for." He said softly.

"A holiday." Gamzee said. He didn't like the way that the human was acting. "It's a tradition for Subjugglators."

"We are interested in learning of such holidays and traditions. We would like to be partners with your nation."

"It's called Moon Rise. That's all you really need to know about it." He shrugged. "What do you mean by partners?"

"We wish to sign a treaty with you. So we will not press war on you. We do not have a reason to, but we would like to offer our support to you as allies."

"What type of treaty? It's not like my Subjugglators have threatened you or anyone." He tapped his chin. "Why do we need a treaty if there is no threat? I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I'm just curious."

"We do not wish there to be a problem at all. This is why we wish to make amends with you and get to know your culture and become allies with you."

"That makes sense." He said softly. "Do you have a treaty written up?"

"We do." He reached into his coat, pulling out a folder that had the papers in it that needed to be

read over and signed.

"Kairin, bring the papers here." Gamzee said in Alternian. "I will review these and get them back to you shortly."

The man nodded. "Shall I wait outside?"

Kairin got the papers from the human man.

Gamzee nodded. "Escort him to the dining hall."

Kairin nodded and walked toward the man. "Follow." He said walking toward the ordered waiting area.

The man followed along quietly.

Gamzee sat in his throne for a few moments, reading over the treaty. "Interesting. They want to participate in our holidays... I would have to negotiate to get them out of Moon Rise..."

* * *

><p>"How are you?" She asked softly.<p>

"I'm fine." Tavros said softly, smiling. "What brings you here?"

"Gamzee told me about what happened with you walking in on him killing someone. I wanted to make sure that you are okay."

"Oh..." He said, frowning. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine." He said, looking at her.

"You're frightened. You reek of fear Tavros." She sighed. "Gamzee can tell that you are scared. Why don't you just tell him?"

"I... I can't." He said, looking down at his hands. "I can't tell him… I'm afraid he'll leave me..." He bit his lip and squirmed a little bit.

"He won't leave you. He feels bad for making you live here." Kanaya said bluntly. "He loves you Tavros and he is quite aware that you are scared. You need to tell him what's on your mind."

"I know he won't leave me." He said, fumbling the sheets, "But I'm more afraid that he's mad at me for walking in... On that..." He frowned and looked at her with sad eyes. He looked on the edge of tears.

"If Gamzee is mad, it's at himself. He knows that he really scared you." Kanaya smiled. "I don't think he could ever actually get mad at you. Even with the whole heroin thing, that was the drugs talking and not Gamzee."

"Still..." He frowned, looking at her rubbing his eyes. He sniffed and let out a soft sob.

"Talk to me Tavros." She gently rubbed his arm. "I'm here for you even though I'm not your moirail."

"I... Don't really have a moirail." He said softly. He sniffled and rubbed his eyes. "I... I..." He leaned against her, sobbing quietly. "I'm afraid I'm nothing but a problem to him."

"He doesn't think of you as a problem at all. In fact, he thinks he's the problem."

"I'm a cripple... I can't do anything right..." He sniffed and cringed, shifting his legs a little. He was a bit sore from earlier.

"That doesn't mean that you are a problem to him. He loves taking care of you." Kanaya tried to reassure him. "I'm certain that if you talk to him, he will tell you that. If you have confidence in anything it should be his feelings for you. He did all of this..." She raised her arms and motioned toward everything in the room. "To protect you. He wouldn't have done that for a "problem.""

"S-Still... I'm worried that he's mad at me... And... And I'm just afraid that he'll go to the island and he'll never come back." He sobbed, wiping at his eyes with his hands. "Nnnn..."

"Why wouldn't he come back? The lust only lasts for a couple weeks. At least that's what I have gathered by talking to him about it." Kanaya said. "Tavros, he loves you. He's not going to leave you."

"Tav..." Gamzee said softly. He had finished with the meeting and wanted to get back to cuddling with Tavros.


	56. Chapter 56

Tavros sniffled, hearing Gamzee's voice. "Oh no he's coming here... I... I don't want him to see me crying..."

"You need to talk to him. I'll stay if you want but you need to tell him what's going on."

"Tav..." Gamzee smiled walking into the room. "Wha... Why are you crying? Tav, what's wrong?" He ran over to the bed of his private room, pulling Tavros into his arms.

Tavros sniffled, wrapping his arms around him, quivering. "Nnnghhh..." He sobbed softly, against Gamzee's chest. He didn't look at his face, he kept his eyes shut tightly.

"Kanaya... What happened?" He asked, worried. He didn't understand why Tavros was crying.

"He's upset, obviously." She said quietly. "He's afraid that you are angry with him for some reason."

Tavros nodded his head, sobbing quietly.

"Why would I be mad at you Tav? You haven't done anything wrong!" Gamzee asked, gently rubbing his back. "I could never get mad at you."

"B-Because I w-walked i-in and i-I" He stammered, sniffling and whimpering. "I... I... Don't know…"

"Why would I be mad about that?" Gamzee asked. "You were trying to deliver a message to me. That's nothing for me to get mad about." He sighed softly. "I... The only person I'm mad at is myself..."

Tavros whimpered. "You shouldn't be..." He said softly, cringing as he snuggled against him. "Nnn… Nnnnnn" He sniffled and whimpered, coughing. "I love you Gamzee."

"I love you too. So much, Tavros." It felt weird to say his matesprit's full name. "You mean everything to me and I keep scaring you and hurting you... Why wouldn't I be mad at myself?"

"You don't hurt me... Ever, Gamzee. I love you so much." He sniffed. "I sometimes get scared and I have really low self-confidence..."

"You fell down the stairs because I scared you..." He said softly. "I know you have low self-confidence and I try to let you know how much you mean to me... It never works though... Gog... I'm such a shit matesprit.."

Tavros looked up at him, his face stern. Gamzee's makeup frightened him, and he fought back the urge to start sobbing again. "You. Are. Not." He said, his hands shaking as he pushed them against Gamzee's chest. "You are a wonderful matesprit."

Gamzee buried his face in Tavros' chest, his horns going over one of his shoulders. He had forgotten all about his makeup, having gotten used to not wearing any. "I'm sorry... I forgot I was wearing it..." He whimpered. "I... I don't... I don't want you to be scared of me... But you are... And I know you can't help it but it makes me scared..."

"Gamzee..." He touched his hair gently, running his fingers through the mess of locks and knots. He whimpered and leaned down to kiss the mess of hair. "Gamzee... I love you no matter what." He said, hugging him close. "I love you... I love you I love you."

Transparent purple tears ran down his cheek as he held Tavros close to him. "I love you. I love you so much Tav and I want you to be happy but you're scared and it's all my fault... I'm so sorry..." He cried.

Kanaya, who had been quiet throughout this whole ordeal, scooted closer to the two of them. "You two needed this. Both of you need to talk about what's on your minds! I'm going to go now. Call me later and let me know how things go."

Tavros nodded and nuzzled against him. "W-We will."

"I'm so sorry Tav..." Gamzee whimpered, grabbing at the huge shirt on his matesprit. "I'm sorry... I know they scare you and that I scare you too but I love you and I can't imagine being without you..."

"I want to be strong like you Gamzee." He said, snuggling against him. "I want to be able to stand up... A-against the strongest foes..." he sniffed. "I want to not be weak..."

"You are strong Tav. You are so much stronger than you realize. It may not be physical strength but you have such a strong heart. I don't know anyone who could go through the things you have and still smile." He said softly. "Other than the physical strength that I get from being a highblood, I have no strength. You are... What keeps me stable.."

Tavros gently kissed his head again. "Gamzee... I... I want to not be afraid of Subjugglators anymore."

"You do realize that you can control what they do, right?" Gamzee asked. "You are their leader just as much as I am."

"B-But how..." He said softly, looking up at him. "I don't see how..." he whispered.

"You're my matesprit and I gave you the power to control them. They have to listen to you." He said softly. "I thought it would help a little with having to live with them..."

"I... I'm too scared to." He said quietly, frowning. "I'm afraid that if I were to do something... They would get mad at me."

Gamzee grabbed the phone from behind Tavros. "Dial the number 617 and Kairin will answer then just tell him to do something." He instructed. "He won't get mad."

Tavros whimpered. "B-But..." He looked at him and swallowed. "I... I uh..." He touched the phone. "W-What do I order him?"

"Tell him to make you a sandwich or something. You're probably hungry."

Tavros nodded. "Y-Yeah..." he dialed the number and whimpered a little bit, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" Kairin said into the phone. "Gamzee?"

Tavros whimpered. "U-Uh no... It's uh... Uh... Me."

"Oh. Tavros. What can I do for you?" He asked softly, remembering the warning that Gamzee had given about being rude to Tavros.

"I... I uh..." He shook like a leaf. "I'm uh... K-kinda hungry and uh... I... W-would like a s-sandwich... O-or uh... Something."

"What type of sandwich?"

He whimpered. "Something that doesn't have meat in it..."

"Peanut butter and jelly?"

"T-That works."

"Okay. Give me a couple minutes and I'll bring it to your room. Unless you want me to bring it somewhere else." He said.

"I am uh... In uh..." He looked at Gamzee. "O-Our room is fine." he said softly.

"Ok. I will bring it shortly. Would you like any juice or anything to accompany your sandwich?"

"A-Apple juice is fine." he said softly, leaning against Gamzee. Why was he so nervous? He was shaking so bad he was sure he heard it in his voice.

"Would Gamzee like anything? He left the room so quickly after the guest left that I figured he was going to go find you." Kairin laughed a little.

Gamzee shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Gamzee said he's fine." he said, frowning. "He's okay."

"Ok. Well, I'll be up there in a moment with your sandwich and juice." Kairin said before hanging up.

"That wasn't so hard." Gamzee said softly, kissing Tavros' cheek. "I need to go scrub this shit off of my face. I'll be back okay?"

Tavros nodded. He wiggled around on the bed, grabbing for his pants and pulling them on as best as he could.

Kairin made the sandwich quickly and poured the juice into one of the chocolately brown glasses before making his way to the bedroom of his master and his master's matesprit. "Tavros? I have your food."

Gamzee stood in the bathroom, scrubbing his face furiously.

Tavros scooted himself down onto the wheelchair, wheeling to the entrance to Gamzee's secret room. He mentally cursed himself for the small lip on the edge of the door and tried to push himself over it, instead falling out of his wheelchair and landing on his face.

"Tavros!" Kairin exclaimed, setting the tray on the table beside the bed. He went over and gently picked Tavros from the ground. "Are you alright?"

Tavros mumbled something and winced. "Y-Yeah... I-I'm fine." He said, holding his nose, which dripped a little blood, but it wasn't anything serious. "Ow..." He winced, coughing a bit. "Ow..."

Kairin was careful with his claws. "I'll take you to the bed and then go get Gamzee. He'll know what to do."

"Okay..." He held his nose and whimpered a little bit. "I'm really okay... I just fell I'm fine..." He looked at Kairin with big eyes. "I'm sorry..."

"Wait... Why are you apologizing? Tavros, you should never apologize to any of us Subjugglators. We're not worth it."

"I-I... I uh... B-But I fe-fell and uh..." He frowned and wiped his nose. "I... I t-think you're worth being apologized to..." he said.

"That is a type of kindness that we Subjugglators are not accustomed to." He said softly, setting Tavros on the bed. "Can you tell me where Gamzee is?"

Gamzee walked back into the room, his face makeup-less. "I'm here. What happened?"

"I fell and hurt my face... I'm okay." He frowned. "I just need a tissue." Tavros said, looking up at Gamzee.

Gamzee grabbed one from the box on the nightstand. "I didn't think that lip would be much of a problem for your chair. I'm sorry Tav."

"It's okay." he said, blowing his nose, wiping the blood from it. "I'll be okay." He smiled sweetly. "Thank you for helping me up Kairin."

"It's part of my job Tavros. But I'm glad you are okay." He smiled softly.

Gamzee sat on the edge of the bed. "I feel a lot better not having that makeup on. Do I look a little less scary now?"

Tavros nodded quickly. "Yes." he smiled at him. He felt much better now that the blood on his face was gone.

It was growing closer and closer to Moon Rise. Tavros spent a lot of time in his library, reading fairy tales and stories. It helped him ease his mind. Granted, he couldn't do a lot with him being so far up in the mountains, and with him being handicapped, but he could explore with his imagination.

He mentally cursed himself for that thought, seeing as it was nothing but a childish pipe dream. He wanted to be strong. He truly wanted to be strong.

Tavros practiced a lot by himself, looking in the mirror and making angry looking facial expressions to try and gain some confidence with himself to order the Subjugglators around. He would have to, seeing as he would be taken care of by Subjugglators as soon as Moon Rise hit. This would be a problem if he didn't know how to order them around. He felt frightened still by their presence, even though they would take care of him.

One day, Tavros had been left by himself while Gamzee attended a meeting. He sighed as he pulled his legs on, slowly making his way out of his room, down the elevator, and towards the library. It was another lonely day. A Subjugglator would be around to give him lunch at some point during the day, and he would be able to eat dinner with Gamzee. He knew the drill.

Gamzee had gotten so pissed off at the meeting that he had just left, seeing red. He wanted Tavros. He wanted to cuddle and have that sweet voice of his matesprit whisper the words he craved. Quickly, he made his way towards Tavros' library. "Tav, are you in here?" He yelled as soon as he walked into the fairy garden themed room. Gamzee went to the back corner, to the cave and smiled when he saw Tavros sitting on the bench reading a book of fairytales.  
>"Tav." He smiled softly, his anger fading. He went and sat down on the bench beside his love, wrapping the smaller troll in his arms. "I'm so happy that you're here."<p>

"G-Gamzee, I thought you had a meeting..." He looked over at him, his eyes wide. He leaned into the embrace, resting his head against his shoulder. "Not t-that there's anything wrong with you being here." he smiled and hugged him tightly.

"They pissed me off and I wanted to come see you and cool down before I tried to deal with them again." He kissed his shoulder gently. "I'm sorry I've been so busy lately."

"It's alright." He smiled and looked up at him. "It gives me time to actually enjoy the library." he smiled and nuzzled him. "I love you so much Gamzee. I'm sorry your meeting isn't going well."

Hearing the sweet voice of his matesprit say those words made his anger fade completely. "I love you too Tav." He kissed his cheek. "We got some new books in for your library and I have another present for you. It's in the bedroom." Gamzee smiled.

Tavros gasped. "D-Did it come in today?" he asked, leaning back and looking up at him.

"Yup." He smiled.

Tavros bounced with joy. "Yay! Finally the thing I ordered came in" he giggled and squirmed around,

"Wait... You ordered something?" Gamzee asked, confused. "I thought you were talking about the books we ordered for your library..."

"I ordered something, yeah." He nodded a bit. "S-Sorry..." He stopped bouncing and looking at him. "B-But the books are cool too." he grinned.

"I don't care that you ordered something Tav. Everything of mine, is yours." He smiled. "So what did you order?"

"Something for you that I can't tell you what it is until I can wrap it." he grinned widely, wriggling in his seat.

"You didn't have to get me anything! I have you after all!" He laughed, hugging him tighter. "You're so adorable. I don't tell you that enough."

"A-Aww Gamzee..." He giggled and leaned on him. "S-So what's this present in the bedroom then?" he blinked. "I... Haven't heard anything about this."

"Something for you." He smiled. "You want to go see it now?"

Tavros nodded. "Y-Yeah!" He smiled and stood, his legs creaking just a bit as he stood up on them.

Gamzee stood with Tavros. "Let's go." He said, grabbing Tavros' hand. Together, they made their way to their bedroom. By the bed stood a customized, single troll recuperacoon already filled with sopor slime. "Surprise!" He grinned widely pointing to it.

Tavros gasped. "g-Gamzee…" He walked over to it, looking at it. It was wide enough at the opening for his horns, which made him smile brightly.

Then it hit him.

"B-But Gamzee...W-what about..."

"There is a door on it and it locks. I had it made strong enough so I can't break in and only you will have the key." He explained. "I knew you would be worried about it but you were getting really bad nightmares and I wanted to do this for you..."

Tavros whimpered. "T-Thank you..." He said softly, walking back over to him, hugging him tightly. "Gamzee thank you so much."

Gamzee smiled, kissing the top of Tavros' head. "I love you." He whispered, pulling the key from his pocket. "Kairin was the one in here when they brought it in and gave me the key before my last meeting." He handed him the key. "It's all yours."

Tavros took the key gently, holding it. "T-Thank you Gamzee." He smiled. "I promise that we'll take naps together and I'll try my best to snuggle up with you so you're not so lonely at night. I'll sleep in it when I can okay?"

Gamzee ran his thumb along Tavros' jaw. "If you start having a nightmare, I want you to get in the recuperacoon. I'll be fine if I know it's helping you."

"O-Okay." He said, his face flushing. "I'll do my best for you." he smiled and wrapped his arms around him.

"I love you so much." He smiled, kissing his cheek. "Want to cuddle some before dinner?"

Tavros nodded. "Yes. I'd like that a lot." He smiled and reached up to put his hands on Gamzee's shoulders.

Gamzee wrapped his arms around Tavros' thighs, picking him up. "Cross your ankles behind my back." He smiled, seeing how confused Tavros was. "I won't let you fall. Ever."

Tavros shifted, hearing the metal bang together as he crossed his ankles the best he could. He leaned into Gamzee's body. "Mmm..."

Gamzee walked over to the bed, laying Tavros down gently before crawling in after him. "Tav cuddles are the best." He smiled, pulling him close.

Tavros snuggled against him. "Awww and Gamzee cuddles are too." He giggled softly and nuzzled up to him. "I love this... I love being with you Gamzee... I'm going to miss you when you're gone."


	57. Chapter 57

"I wish that I didn't have to go..." He sighed. "I don't want to leave you here but it's too dangerous for you to go to the island during Moon Rise."

Tavros nodded. "I know." he said softly, looking at him with his big brown eyes open wide. "Still... I'm worried for you."

"Why? I won't get hurt! I'm the king!" He smiled, trying to reassure Tavros. "I can kick all of their asses!"

"Still... I've seen Subjugglators that are bigger than you." he said, frowning. "I... I don't want things to get out of hand." He looked concerned.

"I know. I'll be careful. I have the most adorable matesprit in the world to come home to!" Gamzee said softly. "Now give me a kiss!"

Tavros leaned up, placing a soft kiss on his mouth before pulling back, a wicked grin on his face.

"What's with that grin, Tav?" Gamzee asked, teasingly. "Are you planning something?"

"No, no not at all." he smiled. "I'm just happy to be here with you and I'm happy that I have you… A-and I'm happy that you got me that recuperacoon because that's pretty amazing right there."

"Tavros..." Gamzee smiled. "What are you planning and what did you get me?"

Tavros shook his head. "Can't tell you yet." He said, smiling.

Gamzee pouted. "Why not?"

"Because it's a secret." He smiled and wiggled around a bit. "You'll love it though."

"I never thought I wouldn't but I feel like I should be worried..." He said softly, grinning. "When do I get to know what it is?"

"As soon as it comes in." He grinned. "Seriously though, don't worry, you'll love it."

A few minutes later, Kairin knocked on the door. "Tavros? Are you in here? Your package came in!" He said through the door.

"Well, isn't that convenient?" Gamzee grinned.

Tavros shifted. "Yay!" He shifted around a bit, squirming as he got up off the bed.

Gamzee watched him. "Can I follow or do I have to stay here?"

"Stay." he grinned as he hobbled out of the room. He had ordered a giant bull plushy. It was almost the same size as him without his legs. He figured that Gamzee would like it when he couldn't be with him during Moon Rise. He walked out of the room, heading to the elevator.

Gamzee flopped back onto the bed. "I wonder what he ordered for me..."

Tavros looked around. "Uh... Kairin?" He called, finding the massive box. He really needed help getting this into the room. "Uh..."

Kairin smiled as he walked over. "Do you need help with the package Tavros? Let me get it." He picked it up. "Where should I take it?"

"T-To uh..." He said, softly. "Uh... The bedroom." He said softly, looking up at him.

"Yes sir." He smiled down at him. "Do you want to go in before I take that package inside?"

"Y-Yeah." He said scurrying to catch up as he hurried up the elevator, heading back towards the bedroom.

Kairin walked slowly to help Tavros keep up. "I know that Gamzee is really upset about having to leave you for Moon Rise. One of the younger Subjugglators commented and said he should bring you and make you participate. He got so angry but before he started yelling or beating the Subjugglator, he got up and left. It was strange."

"O-Oh..." He looked up at him. "I-It's because I would get killed." he said softly, rubbing his arms.

"I know that but I don't think that that Subjugglator realizes that you are not a highblood, not that it really matters since you mean as much as you do to Gamzee. I bet he walked out so he wouldn't do anything rash that you would see." Kairin sighed. "He really is trying to not do things that would cause you to be scared."

Tavros frowned. "I know." He said quietly, looking at him. "He really wants me to not be scared anymore... It's really nice." he smiled a little bit. "But I can't help being scared by giants."

"You have no reason to fear us. Most of the Subjugglators think you are a highblood..." Kairin informed him. "And Gamzee has not corrected them. I don't think he means to."

"R-Really?" He looked up at Kairin. "Still though..." He said softly. "It's hard not being afraid of someone when they're literally almost three times your body weight and mass."

"True." He nodded. "That's why it's hard for some of them to believe that Gamzee killed the last Grand Highblood. But I saw him do it and I know what he's capable of."

Tavros nodded. "Y-Yeah..." He said quietly. "I can see that."

"You have quite the matesprit." He smiled. "Well, here we are. I await your signal to enter."

Tavros nodded. He walked inside and smiled. "It's here, it's here~~" He grinned and waved Kairin into the room.

Gamzee smiled, sitting up. "What is it?!" He asked, standing and walking over to Tavros. "It's huge!"

Tavros grinned widely. "Y-Yup!" He smiled. "Open it, open it."

Kairin sat it on the ground as Gamzee walked over. Gamzee opened it quickly. "Ah! It's huge!" He smiled, pulling out the giant bull plushy. "It's almost the same size as you Tav!"

Tavros nodded, giggling. "Y-Yeah!" he wobbled over to him, wrapping his arms around him. "It's so when you go on Moon Rise you can't forget about me and so you don't get lonely."

Gamzee dropped the plushy and hugged Tavros close to him. "I love you so much and I could never forget about you!" He said quickly. "I'll keep it at the castle since I won't need to cuddle with it here because I have you!"

Tavros smiled. "Alright." He grinned and snuggled against him.

"I love you!" He smiled. Gamzee couldn't stop grinning and thinking about how lucky he was to have such a sweet matesprit like Tavros. "I'm the luckiest fucking troll in the world!"

"A-Awwww..." He snuggled against him and relaxed. He could never be scared of Gamzee.

'Today is the day.' Karkat thought to himself. 'Today is the day that Sollux starts school and leaves me to sleep by myself...' He sighed as he sat in the back seat of Eridan's car. Eridan had taken over taking him to school since they went the same way and had the same schedule. It wasn't that Karkat wasn't excited for Sollux, he was, but he knew that him going to school at night was going to bring many lonely nights. 'Maybe Gamzee and Tav can come over and keep me and Carmine company..'

Eridan looked in his rear view mirror, looking back at Karkat. "Evveryfin okay, Kar?" He asked, smiling a little as they continued to drive

"Yeah. It's just that tonight is the night that Sollux starts school." He smiled up at Eridan. "I'm worried about how Carmine will take it. She doesn't like having only one of us there."

"Oh neat. I didn't knoww Sol wwas goin to school. That's really neat." He smiled. "Carmine wwill be fine. As wwill you. It's only for a little bit, yeah?"

"Yeah. We'll both be asleep when he comes home. But he'll have dinner waiting in the microwave for him." He smiled. "He got into the tech school that's by my campus."

"Oh that's really neat!" Eridan said, smiling even wider, showing his fangs. "That's still pretty awwesome. Wwhat's he gonna do wwith that? Do you knoww?"

"He's getting his certification so he can actually work on peoples computers and get paid to do it." Karkat said. "He's really excited but we all know he's going to get bored with it because he knows like everything about computers!"

"Yeah, wwell that's because he's fuckin batshit crazy at them." He shook his head. "It wwould be cool for him to just take a test and be done wwith it all."

"Yeah but you have to actually take and pass classes in order to get the certification I think." He sighed. "It just kinda sucks that we only have an hour together before he leaves for school."

"That really sucks..." Eridan said, sighing quietly. "I'm sorry he's gotta go through all that and stuff." he frowned and pulled into their drive way. "Here you go, Kar. Enjoy your hour wwith him."

"Thanks Eridan. I'll see ya tomorrow, bright and early!" He smiled as he got out of the car and walked to the door. "Sollux! Carmine! I'm home!" He yelled as he walked inside the house.

Carmine came running from the living room, screaming at the top of her lungs. "MOMMY!"

Sollux cringed. "Welcome home." Sollux said, smiling as he set his backpack down on the couch.

Karkat picked Carmine up. "How was your day Bumblebee?"

"Good! Daddy made me a thandwich with peanut butter and jelly! It wath really good!" Carmine smiled.

"That's good." He smiled at her. "Hello Love. How was your day?"

Sollux smiled. "It'th been good... A little thtrethful, but okay." he smiled and leaned against him. "It'th all good though." he smiled sweetly and shrugged his shoulders.

"Are you excited about your classes starting?" He asked, wrapping his free arm around Sollux.

"To be honetht? No." He frowned. "I'm worried I'll get methed with." he frowned and leaned against him gently. "I'm kinda... Meh." he frowned. "I don't know how I feel about thith."

"Aww... Honey Bee..." He frowned, pulling him closer with his one arm. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said softly, resting against him. "Mmm... I'm tho tired you have no idea."

"What time did Carmine wake you up?" Karkat asked softly, walking into the living room. "Why don't you come cuddle with me and Carmine before you have to leave?"

"Like... 8 or 9." He said, "The wanted breakfatht and wouldn't leave me alone." He frowned, looking over at him. "Cuddling thoundth nithe."

Karkat sat on the couch. "She woke you up after I left? That's strange..."

"Yeah." He sat down too, leaning against Karkat gently.

"I wonder what woke her up." He sighed softly, playing with Sollux's hair. "I'm gonna miss you tonight."

"I'm gonna mith you too." he said, curling up against him. "Mmm you're warm."

"I think it's kinda strange that my body temperature didn't change with my blood color..." Karkat stated. "Since apparently I'm still really warm."

Sollux nodded. "And I don't care one bit." he said snuggling against his chest. "You altho have a warm blooded kid, and a warm blooded matethprit."

"True but she was born in a timeline where my blood hadn't changed. You on the other hand, have always been warm and it makes me happy because you make a great pillow." Karkat smiled before having a small fit of coughs. "I hope I'm not getting sick..."

Sollux looked over at him. "Maybe I thould thtay home..." he frowned, his face showing genuine concern.

"No. I'll be fine and you have class. I don't want you to miss the first day." He said softly. "If it gets any worse, I'll take the day off and go to the doctor."

He frowned. "You're worrying me." he said, touching his face. "The latht thing we need ith you getting thick."

"Then I will take tomorrow off and go see a doctor." He smiled. "They just opened that Alternian Medical Center by campus."

"Thtill..." He frowned, looking at him. "KK..."

"I will be fine, Sollux." He kissed his forehead. "Now you have 20 minutes to relax with me before you have to leave and I want to spend it cuddling."

He mumbled quietly under his breath and snuggled up to him. "You'd better not have anything contageouth." he said, kissing his cheek.

"That's why I kissed your forehead, dumbass." He laughed. "Mmmmm."

The pair laid together for a good 15 minutes before Sollux shifted. " Nnn... I don't wanna go..." he said, groaning in protest. "Thave me dinner okay?" he frowned and shifted to get up. "One more hug?"

Carmine crawled off of Karkat, letting him have both of his arms.

Karkat stood and wrapped his arms around his matesprit. "I love you. Dinner will be in the microwave with a note for heating instructions. " He smiled, leaning up to kiss him gently. "Have a good class."

"I will." He kissed him back, leaning down and kissing Carmine gently. "Be good for mommy."

Carmine nodded, hugging his leg. "I love you Daddy!"

Karkat watched as Sollux got in the car and left. He had been by himself for a couple hours and had put Carmine to bed. "I wish he was here... Maybe if I call.." He picked up the phone, dialing Gamzee.

"Hello?"

"Gam... I'm lonely and really need my moirail... Can you come over here?" He asked.

"Sure!" Gamzee smiled, looking at Tavros.

Tavros looked at him with wide eyes. "Is something up?" he asked softly, his eyes wide.

"Karbro is lonely and probably wants to snuggle while Sol is at school. You want to come?" Gamzee asked.

Tavros frowned. "Since this is a moirail thing, I should stay out of it." he said, frowning slightly. "Any other time I would though."

Gamzee frowned a little. "Okay. I'll be back later." He kissed his nose. "I'll call you later."

Tavros smiled. "A-Alright!" He grinned. He watched him go and sighed softly. He was alone again, curling up on the bed as he flipped through the channels on TV.

Gamzee drove over to Karkat and Sollux's house. "Hey man, what's wrong?" He asked when he got inside.

"I'm lonely... I know he's only going to be gone for a few more hours but I miss him..." Karkat whimpered.

The taller troll wrapped his arms around the smaller. "Let's snuggle and maybe that will make you feel better."

Karkat and Gamzee laid on the couch, wrapped in each other's arms. "Thanks for this Gamzee..." Karkat whispered. "This is helping a lot."

"No problem bro! We're moirails!" Gamzee smiled.

Karkat and Gamzee had fallen asleep on the couch. Karkat had his arms wrapped around his moirail's waist and his head on his chest. He was comfortable, granted his snuggle buddy wasn't Sollux but it worked and made him feel a little better.

Sollux sat at school, bored out of his skull.

Sollux, who sat in the back of the room, waited desperately for this stupid class to be over so he could go grab a snack. "Ughhhhh..." he moaned to himself.

Class ended and the blonde man had taken a notice of the only troll in class. He sauntered up to the troll. "Sup."

Sollux looked over at him as he gathered his stuff, shoving it into his backpack. "Thup..." He said, narrowing his eyes a bit at him.

"You look kinda ironic with all the mismatched clothes." The blonde said. "Dirk Strider." He stuck his hand out.

"Tholluckth Captor." He mumbled, sticking out his hand. He wasn't THAT mismatched. His shirt and pants were both black, but his shoes were black and white... One of each. His eyes of course remained their faithful two toned color and his glasses reflected that.

The human, Dirk Strider, shook his hand. "How good are you with all this shit?"

"Thith ith all really boring to me." He said, running a hand through his own hair. "I with I could jutht like... Take a placement tetht or thomething..."

"Same here. This is all newbie stuff." Dirk sighed. "I have some robots to work on at home."

"Cool." He said. "I jutht work on computerth."

"Why don't we work together on the project that's coming up? I bet we would kick it's ass." Dirk smirked.

"Thure. Don't thee why not." he said, shrugging his shoulders. He smiled a little bit.

"So what class do you have after this, Captor?"

"Uhh... Binary coding." he said, rubbing his arms. "Again, Thimple thtuff."

"Who do you have for it? We might be in the same class again."

Sollux pulled out his schedule and showed the teacher's name. "Him." He said, frowning.

"Looks like we're stuck together for the night." He said, smirking a little behind his pointed shades.

Sollux shrugged his shoulders. "Lead the way, Thtrider."

Dirk started to walk toward their next class room, which was only a couple rooms down. "I think this is the room."

Sollux nodded, walking inside. Indeed it was. He took a seat near the back at the computer, groaning quietly. Yet another boring class.

Dirk fell asleep about 10 minutes into the class.

Sollux groaned and rolled his eyes. This was stupid. This kid wanted nothing more but to take this opportunity to sleep.

Sollux unlocked the door, walking in at the sight. His eyes went wide. "KK..." he whispered. He glared at Gamzee, his psionics flaring.


	58. Chapter 58

Gamzee could smell the electricity in the air and it woke him up. "Hey Solbro! How was school?"

Sollux glared at him. "Get out."

Gamzee was confused. "Okay..." He said as he moved Karkat and got off the couch. "Don't have to get all defensive, just a motherfucker helping his bro."

Sollux let out a sigh. "I didn't want to come home and find you curled around my matethprit. Thorry for getting upthtet." he grumbled.

"He was lonely. He really missed you and it's not like we kissed or anything. It was nothing but cuddling." Gamzee said.

"Thtill..." he said softly, looking at him. "It wath jutht unpleathant okay?"

"Okay. Sorry for bursting your bubble, man." Gamzee grabbed his jacket and keys and headed out. "Give him a good cuddle!"

"I plan on it..." He grumbled, working his way into the kitchen to heat up his left overs.

Karkat shifted on the couch. "Sol..." He whimpered as he scooted into the warm area that Gamzee had occupied earlier.

Sollux had already started eating when he heard Karkat say his name. He hesitated, standing up and walking into the other room. "KK?" he asked softly.

He had shifted onto his back, showing the Gemini shirt and the bee pajama bottoms that he was wearing. "Sollux..."

"Yeth KK?" he asked, walking over to him. He sat down on the edge of the couch.

Karkat shifted with the shift in weight, curling around Sollux.

Sollux looked down at him. "Nnnn but KK I've gotta finith eating."

Again he shifted, wrapping his arms around the source of warmth. "Sollux..."

Sollux whimpered and gently pushed him away for a moment. He leaned down and kissed him gently. "I'll be right back." He whispered, going into the other room to finish stuffing food in his face.

Karkat curled into the smallest ball possible, trying to conserve the heat from whatever had been there.

Sollux came back, gently lifting him up off the couch with the use of his psionics before carrying him upstairs. He gently set him in bed, curling up around him.

The smaller troll snuggled into the side of the other, putting his head on his chest as he fell deeper into sleep's embrace.

Sollux fell asleep quickly, whimpering as he pulled the blanket over them.

The next morning, Karkat awoke confused as to why he was in his bedroom. "Gamzee?" He asked, not even opening his eyes. No, the form next to him was too thin to be Gamzee. He smiled as he opened his eyes to reveal his sleeping matesprit. "Sollux." He whispered, kissing his cheek. "Morning Honey Bee."

Sollux shifted a little bit, rubbing his eyes. "Nnn?" he whimpered, looking around. "Huh?"

"Go back to sleep Honey Bee." Karkat whispered, kissing his cheek again. "I'm going to go make breakfast."

Sollux shifted. "Nnn but..." He yawned. "Nnnnhhhh but..." he reached out and grabbed Karkat's waist, pulling him close.

Karkat sighed as he fell back on the bed and onto Sollux. "Baby, I need to eat something before I go to... Wait... I'm supposed to be calling today off... Never mind."

He curled up next to him, whimpering. "Mmmm warm." He purred as he nuzzled against him.

"My doctor's appointment is for 3:30." Karkat said softly, curling back up with his matesprit. "Just curious, when did Gamzee leave?"

"When I got home." He said, his eyes narrowing a bit. "He wath all curled up around you and I didn't like it."

"Why? It's not like we were doing anything that moirails don't normally do." Karkat yawned. "He was helping me get over being sad about you not being home."

Sollux sighed and nuzzled against him. "Th-Thtill..."

"Were you seriously jealous of Gamzee?" Karkat asked. "Why?"

"A-A little..." He said, looking away. "T-Thorry it'th jutht that... W-well you know... I mean..."

"Actually, I don't know. Gamzee and I don't think of each other in that way and we would never consider doing anything like that." Karkat said. "So, what about our relationship as moirails makes you jealous?"

"I-I don't know…" he said softly, his face flushing yellow. "I... I'm thorry."

"I'm not mad, just confused." Karkat said, pulling Sollux close to him. "I don't see why you would be threatened in any way by that."

"I don't know. Gamthee giveth me the creepth." He said, frowning. "Alwayth hath."

"It's because he's a highblood..." He sighed. "Baby, you know I'm yours. 100%."

"I know..." He frowned, curling up with him. "Thtill... He threathened me and it thcared me."

"I am yours and no one else's. I hope you realize that." Karkat smiled softly. "It's cute that you got jealous over something like cuddling but I'm completely dedicated to you."

"I'm thorry..." he pouted. "Gueth I thouldn't be jealouth thinthe I put you through all of that..." he sighed softly.

"How about we not think of sad things and cuddle until you decide that you are hungry enough for me to go make you and Carmine some breakfast." He smiled, kissing the tip of his nose.

He nodded and curled up with him. "I'm thorry." he whispered, biting his lip gently.

"Captor, what did I just say? Now look at me and give me a kiss." He pouted.

He leaned up and gently kissed him on the lips, whimpering softly. "Mmmm..." He purred softly.

Karkat smiled into the kiss, his fingers slipping into the silky hair of his matesprit. 'I love you.'

He whimpered and leaned against him, his voice soft as he hummed. "I love you too." he said as he leaned back, his hands shaking.

"Why are you shaking, Sollux?" Karkat asked softly. He inhaled a little before curling into himself as he started coughing painfully.

Sollux reached out to him, holding him close. "KK..." He whimpered, touching his back. "Hey...

Karkat started to feel light headed. "Sollux. I don't feel so good... Do I have a fever?" He whimpered.

Sollux reached down, touching his forehead. "You're burning up." He said, his face etched in worry. "KK..."

"Uhn..." He whimpered, curling up again as another fitting of coughing hit him.

Sollux got out of bed, grabbing some clothing. He grabbed some of Karkat's clothes before tossing them at him. "Get drethed. I'm going to wake up Carmine and get her drethed too." he said softly. "We're going NOW."

It took a minute but Karkat got up and changed clothes.

Carmine had woken up, hearing the coughing. "Daddy? Ith everything okay?" She asked, holding her arms out to him.

"Yeah. Get drethed honey." He said. "We have to take Mommy to the doctor."

Carmine nodded and picked out one of her dresses before changing. Using her psionics, she moved to her parents' room. "Daddy? Mommy?"

Sollux was pulling a shirt on, trying to help Karkat with his powers to get dressed. "You gonna be okay, KK?"

Karkat felt horribly weak and unstable as he tried to stand. "Yeah. I'm fine." He smiled weakly, his face turning a pale grey.

"Mommy'th fathe lookth weird!" Carmine said, pointing at Karkat's face. The purple that he was just starting to get used to was looking more magenta.

Sollux looked at him with wide eyes. "KK..." He looked at him, frowning. "You...We have to get you to the doctor NOW." he grabbed his arm, pulling him downstairs.

Karkat could barely walk and soon, his feet disappeared from under him and almost made him fall down the stairs.

"Daddy! Be careful! Mommy can't walk!" Carmine yelled as she held Karkat up with her powers. "Pick Mommy up!"

"Karkat!" He grabbed onto him, picking him up and holding him close. "Karkat..." He carried him out to the car, looking rather concerned, holding him close as he sat him down in the car.

Carmine followed behind, flying with her powers. "Mommy..." She whimpered getting into the car. "Daddy, will Mommy be okay?"

"I'm fine Bumblebee." Karkat smiled at her. "Just a little sick."

"KK thith ith theriouth." He said, grabbing hold of his hand as they got into the car and headed out to the Alternian doctor.

"Sollux, you'll scare her." Karkat glared at him. "I'm fine. It's just coughing!"

"Shut up Mommy. Daddy ith thcared too!" Carmine said. "We love you and want you to be okay."

Sollux shivered and drove quickly to the doctor. He parked the car and walked around to the other side, gently picking Karkat up. "You're not jutht having a cough." he said. "Ith thomething elthe too."

"Welcome to the Alternian Medical Associates. How may I help you?" The lady behind the desk asked, sweetly.

"Mommy ith thick." Carmine said.

"My matethprit ith coughing and hacking and I think it ith thomething having to do with blood." Sollux said softly, looking at her with big eyes.

"What do you mean? What caste is he?" She asked.

"He wath a lowblood... Thuddenly he became a high blood." he said. "Why doeth it matter what cathte he ith?"

"Highbloods get treated quicker. I'm not supposed to say that but it's true..." She looked down. "I can have a doctor look at him within the next couple of minutes."

"Thank you." He said, grumbling. He hated the caste system... And it was stupid. He thought he was rid of it. He sat down, holding Karkat close. "Mmmm..." He hummed the soft lullaby in his ear.

Karkat tried not to fall asleep. "I'm fine, really." He whispered over and over again, not sure if it was for Sollux and Carmine or himself.

Carmine sat by her parents, worrying endlessly about the troll she knew as "Mommy."

Sollux gently reached over for Carmine, gently holding her hand. "It will be okay." he said quietly, smiling.

"I'm sorry but what is his name?" The woman behind the desk asked Sollux.

"Karkat Vantath." He said softly, looking at her.

"Captor!" Carmine yelled. "Karkat Captor!"

"Okay, Karkat Captor." The woman said. "It's all clear for him to come back and see the doctor."

Sollux looked over at her. "Carmine, he hathn't changed hith name yet." he frowned as he gently picked him up and carried him back into the back.

"Tho. He ith thtill a Captor!" She glared at her father.

"I agree with Bumblebee." Karkat whispered, his voice soft.

Sollux rolled his eyes. "Ok okay, okay." He said, grumbling softly. "It'th fine it'th fine. Leth go."

They made their way into the room that they had been assigned. Karkat was set on the bed and Carmine sat on his lap. He ran his fingers through her hair as they waited a few brief moments.

"Hello, my name is Doctor Soanso. What seems to be the problem Mr. Captor?"

"Well, I keep coughing and my daughter has noticed that my face is turning a different color from my blood color."

"What is your blood color?" The doctor asked.

"It was red on Alternia and then it turned purple and I don't know what it's doing now."

Sollux sat across from them, worrying his hands in his lap, whimpering softly. "I'm worried about him."

"I understand your worry. How long have you been coughing like this?"

"Since last night." Karkat answered.

"I'm going to take a blood sample and run some tests."

Karkat nodded. He was slightly worried, not knowing what color his blood was now.

Sollux watched carefully.

The doctor left and returned a few minutes later with a carrier full of clean needles. He prepped Karkat's arm and Karkat watched as he stuck the needle in and drew some blood. It came out almost candy red.

"You weren't kidding about having red blood..."


	59. Chapter 59

Sollux's eyes went wide. "W-What, no way..." he said softly, reaching out to Karkat.

Karkat stared at it. It had been months since his blood had been the red that he hated but knew so well. "It's red again... What do I do?"

Sollux stood up, wrapping his arms around him gently, holding him close. "Hey... Thhhhh... It will be okay..." He pulled his head close to him, frowning.

"I can't protect you two anymore..." He whimpered.

"Mommy ith thtill Mommy!" Carmine said.

"You have quite the family if they don't care about your blood color changing. I'm going to go run my tests." The doctor said before leaving.

"It's red..." He whimpered softly.

"Karkat lithen to me." He gently held either side of his face and held it to look at him. "If thith world ith thtill on the track of blood cathte, I am higher than both of you and I will protect you."

"I'll protect you too, Mommy!" She said softly, hugging Karkat.

The world had suddenly turned and the thought of being culled was an all too real possibility in his mind again even though the culling drones weren't on the planet. "Sollux..."

"Karkat." He said back, his eyes dark. "Lithen to me." he said softly.

"I'm sorry. It's just... I was starting to get used to being safe and now..." He whimpered. "I'm sorry."

"You thtill are." Sollux replied, looking at him with dark eyes. "You are thtill thafe."

"I love you..." Karkat whispered before the doctor came back in.

"You have mono. It's just starting to get bad so you'll be out of commission for a few days but you'll be fine. We also found that you have a mutated enzyme that we believe is turning your blood red." The doctor explained.

Sollux frowned. "Tho hith mutation ith back..." He frowned, looking at him. "Ith it permanent?"

"I believe so but the only way to know for sure is to keep a watch on him. He can still go home and stay there but I think monthly visits to check up on him would be a good thing." The doctor said.

"How much will that cost us?" Karkat asked softly.

"Well, the last name Captor and the first name Karkat were given to us by the Purple King to take care of for free. I believe the name on the list is Karkat Vantas, though."

"My name is Karkat Vantas but I'm working on changing my last name to Captor..." He smiled softly.

Sollux looked over at him. "Really?" he asked, his cheeks flushing yellow.

"We've discussed this Sollux." Karkat laughed a little. "The day we got Carmine."

"Oh..." He said softly. "Y-Yeah..."

"Give me a copy of the documents when you get it changed and we'll make the adjustments." The doctor smiled at them.

"Thank you. Can I go home now?" Karkat asked, playing with Carmine's hair. "I'm sure my bees want me to come home."

Sollux nodded. "I'll make thure you get the paperwork."

He nodded, pulling Carmine close to him. "Bumblebee, go give Daddy a biiiiiiiiig hug for me."

Carmine nodded and jumped off of Karkat's lap and jumped on Sollux. "Daddy!

Sollux pulled Carmine into his arms, kissing her head gently. "Mmmm." He hummed. "Love you."'

"Let'th go home!" Carmine smiled.

Karkat nodded. "I like that idea." He said softly as he climbed off the examination table.

Sollux gently took Karkat's hand, pulling him along as they went out to their car. "Mmmm."

"I told you that I was fine." Karkat laughed. "You two just don't listen."

"You have mono and could get both of uth thick." he said, frowning. "You're going home and thleeping. Okay?"

"Does that mean we have to eat your cooking until I get better?" Karkat asked, teasingly. "Let us all pray to Gamzee's Mirthful Messiahs that I get better soon."

"Yeah, yeah." He laughed a little bit, picking Carmine up and setting her in the car. "My cooking ithn't that bad."

"Thayth who?" Carmine chuckled.

"I'm not the one who said that!" Karkat laughed. "You are definitely my baby girl!" He smiled at Carmine.

Sollux rolled his eyes. "Oh great, I live with two people who act identical. Greaaaaaat." he laughed and opened the door for Karkat, before hurrying around to the other side.

"You know you love us." Karkat smiled softly. "I think it's funny that she got my sass."

"The definitely did." he said, heading back home.

Karkat fell asleep in the car, though it didn't take long to get back home.

"Daddy? You gonna carry Mommy? He ith thleeping..." Carmine asked when they pulled into the drive-way.

"Yeah." He smiled and parked the car, getting out and gently picking Karkat up, resting him against his shoulder. He unlocked the door with his powers, gently carrying Karkat inside and upstairs to the recuperacoon. He undressed him carefully, put the mask on him and slid him into the green slime.

Carmine smiled as Karkat sank into the slime. "Thleep good Mommy!" She whispered to the slime. "We hath lunch now?"

Sollux nodded and walked downstairs, looking in the cabinet for something to eat. "What do you want to eat?"

"Chicken!" The orange blooded wriggler smiled. "Pleathe?"

"Okay." He looked in the fridge, finding some packaged chicken. He thought about how he wanted to cook it and decided as he began.

Carmine tried to help as much as she could. "Thith?" She asked her father, holding up an onion.

Sollux nodded, gently taking it from her. "Thank you." he said, peeling it and cutting part of it up, throwing it into the dish.

"What nektht?" She asked, eager to help.

Karkat woke up, confused as to why he was in the recuperacoon. He climbed out, the smell of food being prepared assaulting his nose. Slowly, he climbed completely out and went to shower before changing into some clean clothes. Once dressed, the Cancer made his way downstairs. "What's cooking?"

"Uh... Rithe." He said, looking down at her. "KK get back in bed." he said, his eyes narrowing.

"But I just showered..." He pouted.

Carmine levitated up to his level. "Bed now Mommy."

Karkat smiled. "I guess I can't fight with my little Bumblebee." He patted her head. "Let me know when it's done. I'll be on the couch."

Sollux nodded, rubbing his arms a bit. He continued cooking.

Karkat went upstairs, grabbing the bee blanket and his bee plushy before going to the couch. He settled under the blanket, warm and content before starting a movie. If Sollux was going to make him stay in "bed" all day, then we would do it his way.

Sollux looked back at him, smiling. "Good boy." He said, smiling a little wider after he reflected on what he just had uttered. "Well... Food ith almotht done."

"I'm not a pet." Karkat pouted. "Carmine, go make sure that Daddy makes a plate for me."

Carmine laughed as she ran back to the kitchen. "Don't forget Mommy'th plate!" She smiled, excited to have them both there.

"I know I know." He smiled and rolled his eyes. "I won't forget hith plate." He grabbed 3 plates from the cabinet before filling them with the cooked food. He carried one into the living room and gave it to Karkat with a fork before heading back into the kitchen grabbing the other two plates.

The Cancer started to eat the food but soon found that he didn't have much of an appetite. He set the plate on the table, glaring at it as nausea washed over him. "Can you put one of my movies in, Sollux?"

"Yeah." He got up grabbing the lamest possible romcom he could get his hands on before shoving it into the machine.

"I wish we could cuddle but since I could get you sick..." He sighed softly. "This is going to be a long two weeks..."

Sollux nodded. "It'll be okay." He smiled and went back to eating.

* * *

><p>Tavros had woken up kind of early due to hearing noises outside his recuperacoon. He opened the door and crawled out, seeing that Gamzee wasn't in bed anymore. He rubbed his eyes and pulled himself out of the coon, into a wheelchair, into the bathroom to get cleaned off and then back into the other room to get dressed again. He still hadn't gotten the habit of getting in and out of that thing yet, but he was sure he'd manage. He attached his legs, pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He rubbed his stomach. He felt hungry. He opened the door and was startled by a Subjugglator standing in his way. "Uh..."<p>

"Good morning Tavros." The Subjugglator said, bowing slightly. "I trust you slept well."

"Yeah..." He looked at him. "...Is there a reason you're standing here? I was going to go to the kitchen..."

"I'm sorry but you can't leave the room." He said, looking down at his king's matesprit. "If you would like some food, please allow us to prepare it for you."

Tavros blinked. Not allowed to leave? What was he supposed to do all day? "W-Why can't I leave?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Gamzee's orders. He doesn't want you near the throne room." The purple giant said.

"...The kitchen isn't near the throne room." He muttered. "All I want is to go to the kitchen and make myself something to eat... I want to make it."

"I'm sorry but I can't let you leave."

Tavros sighed, turned around, and shut the door behind him. He walked over to the bed and sat there for a bit. He flipped on the TV and watched a couple of shows. About an hour later, his stomach roared at him. He touched it and sighed. Surely the Subjugglator was gone by now wasn't he? He opened the door, finding the same Subjugglator standing there, guarding his exit. "Uh... Why are you still here?" he asked.

"I'm to stay here until the meetings end." He said simply.

Tavros felt anger boiling up inside of him. "Fine." He said, turning around, slamming the door this time. He let out a shaky breath. Surely there couldn't be a Subjugglator standing at the other end of the secret passage way. He walked over to the bookcase, pulling the lever. He walked through Gamzee's room, into his own, coming out into the library. He walked to the big library doors and opened them wide.

"Good morning Tavros!" The Subjugglator said, looking down at him. "How did you sleep?"

Tavros clenched his fists, grinding his teeth together. "Are you going to stop me from going to the kitchen?" His eyebrows furrowed as anger bubbled higher and higher.

"I'm sorry but yes. I'm not allowed to let you leave."

Something snapped in Tavros' mind. All he wanted was to be able to roam the house freely. He wanted to be able to walk around like he always had been, yet these creatures were keeping him secluded to three rooms. "That's IT!" he screamed, his face flushing dark brown as he screamed at the Subjugglator. "ALL I WANT TO DO IS WALK AROUND MY HOUSE AND I CANT WHY!? CAN YOU ANSWER ME THAT?!"

"Wait... You're not a highblood?" The Subjugglator asked. He was fairly new and only knows that the Grand Highblood's matesprit had side horns and was small. "WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU HERE IF YOU'RE NOT A HIGHBLOOD?" He asked, his voice raised.

Tavros hesitated. This Subjugglator was raising his voice at him. That could be dangerous. He clenched his fists tighter. "I'm Gamzee's matesprit and that's ALL THAT FUCKING MATTERS" he screamed back.

"WHY WOULD THE GRAND MOTHERFUCKING HIGHBLOOD WANT A SHITBLOOD FOR A MATESPRIT?"

Oh, that did it. "BECAUSE HE LOVES ME AND THAT'S ALL THAT SHOULD FUCKING MATTER. NOW LET ME OUT OF THIS FUCKING LIBRARY AND LET ME GO TO THE DAMN KITCHEN"

One of the other Subjugglators had heard the commotion. "What's going on?"

"He's a shitblood. We can't let him stay here." The Subjugglator that had been guarding the door grinned wickedly, holding his club.

Another Subjugglator saw this and went to get Gamzee.

Tavros looked at the Subjugglator, seeing his grip on the club tighten. He turned and saw his lance that Gamzee had purchased for him some time ago sitting against the wall. He grabbed it and aimed it at the Subjugglator. "Don't even fucking think about it."

For the next few seconds, the pair strifed. The Subjugglator had gotten in a couple swings, leaving Tavros with scratches while he had a hold in his arm. He raised his club to strike a fatal blow before he heard someone yelling.


	60. Chapter 60

"If you FUCKING TOUCH HIM I WILL KILL YOU." Gamzee yelled, holding his own club. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY MATESPRIT?"

"I'm ridding you of this shitblood."

"I DON'T WANT TO BE RID OF HIM." Gamzee growled, walking over to Tavros. "Are you okay, Tav?"

"Why do you want a shitblood in your castle?"

"If I hear the word shitblood from any of you again. You will not live for very much longer."

Tavros grumbled and stood up. "I'm fine." he glared at the Subjugglator. "THIS FUCKING ASSHOLE WAS KEEPING ME FROM GETTING TO THE KITCHEN SO I COULD MAKE SOME FUCKING FOOD." He shouted, raising his lance again, bashing the Subjugglator over the head with it.

Gamzee laughed a little. "You guys are fucking stupid. I said to keep him from the throne room because of the yelling, not keep him in our room." He shook his head. "Come on Tav. Let's go have lunch. Nice hit by the way."

Tavros panted, dropping the lance on the ground, turning and wrapping his arms tightly around Gamzee. "I'm sorry..." he whispered, leaning into his chest. Even with his legs, he came nowhere near close to Gamzee's height. He shivered and sniffed, his anger subsiding.

"Why would you be sorry Tav? You punished him for threatening you and I would have done the same. You're their king as much as I am." Gamzee patted his head. "Kairin, tell all Subjugglators that if any of them threaten Tavros because of his blood color that they will be culled."

Tavros let out a shaky sigh. "I'm sorry... Still... I mean... I don't know." he frowned and looked at him with sad eyes. "I feel bad for yelling..."

"If I may Highblood." Kairin said softly. Gamzee nodded. "Tavros, we are your subjects, no matter what your blood color is. Gamzee wants us under your control and if something were to debilitate him for a while, you would have complete control over all of us."

Gamzee nodded. "He has a point Tav. You have every right to discipline them."

Tavros frowned. "If you say so..." he said, clearing his throat. He sighed and leaned against Gamzee. "I'm starving..." he said, touching his stomach. "Can we go eat now?"

"Of course, Tav. Whatever you want." He smiled softly, kissing his lover's forehead.

The pair went into the kitchen and ate quietly. Gamzee soon had to go back to his meeting and Tavros was finally free to walk around the house. He walked out the back of the house, looking out at the green mountain landscape. It was cool, despite being the middle of the summer. He looked far to the north, seeing the snowy capped mountains that loomed over them.

After an hour, Gamzee finally called the meetings to a close. He sighed, walking outside where he had been told that Tavros had been seen last. "Magical isn't it?" He said softly, wrapping his arms around the shorter troll.

Tavros looked back at him. "Y-Yeah." he said, smiling slightly. "It's really wonderful." He smiled and snuggled against his cool body. "Gamzee you're really cold today..." he said quietly, "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah. It's part of Moon Rise. At least that's what Kairin tells me." He sighed. "Our blood and bodies turn colder so we can kill without mercy... But we'll be hunting dummies, not trolls or humans."

"That's good." He smiled. "I hope that it doesn't change you very much... Before you leave." he frowned.

"He said that I'll be more easily pissed off. So that means that I'll need lots of Tav cuddles." He smiled softly. "We both know that you keep me calm."

"Hehehe, I'm glad." He said, smiling sweetly. "It's wonderful that I can calm you down, and you proved to me that you can calm me down too."

"Be expecting me to come find you and cuddle you until I can't cuddle you anymore!" Gamzee laughed. "I love you." He kissed his cheek gently. "I guess I won't be the best cuddle partner since my temperature is declining."

"I'm still warm, I can keep you warm instead." he smiled sweetly. "Okay?"

"You are too good to me Tav." He snuggled close to the lower-blooded troll. "I love you so much."

"Aww." He frowned and leaned back, smiling. "One day I want to go into the mountains."

"How about we do that this summer?" Gamzee asked softly. "Just the two of us in the woods. There is a cabin up there, ya know."

"R-Really?!" He gasped. "T-That's awesome"

"Yeah. It's fully furnished and has lots of books about surviving in the woods." He smiled. "How does that sound?"

"I really like that idea." He smiled. "We should do that after Moon Rise."

"Okay. But don't forget we have to go to Washington a few days after Moon Rise." Gamzee reminded him. "You get to come on this trip and Kanaya has an outfit for you and everything. I think you have to wear your legs for it though."

"Okay." He smiled. "That sounds cool." He squirmed a little bit, putting his weight against Gamzee.

"Only 3 more days..." He sighed. "The carnival starts the night I get there. I probably won't be able to call you but I'll try."

"Okay." He frowned. "I hope you can." He bit his lip gently, resting his head against Gamzee's chest.

"Me too. It's starting to get cold out here, let's go inside and lay down. I'm exhausted." Gamzee yawned. He had been up since 6 that morning in meetings.

Tavros nodded. "Yeah..." He followed Gamzee back inside, feeling the heat inside warm him. "Mmmm..." He hummed quietly as he hurried back to the bedroom.

Gamzee walked with him, picking him up gently before closing the door. "Mine." He smiled.

He grinned and curled up with him. "A-Aww Gamzee." he grinned.

He smiled, pulling Tavros close as he laid them on the bed, Tavros on his chest. He ran his fingers through the Mohawk. "I wish you could come..."

"I would be killed." He said softly. "So it's better that I'm here." he said quietly, rubbing his eyes.

"I know but that doesn't stop me from wishing you could come." Gamzee said softly, rubbing his back. "I don't like this."

"I know..." He gently snuggled closer to him, giving Gamzee his warmth. "I'll miss you but that's what I got you the giant bull for." he grinned.

"I know." He smiled, kissing his cheek. "You still want to go over to Karbro's in a couple days?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "I like that idea."

"We can have a motherfucking snuggle fest! If that's chill with you Tav." Gamzee said softly.

Tavros grinned. "Y-Yeah! That sounds like fun!" he smiled and wiggled a bit against Gamzee.

He sighed, he wouldn't get to spend a lot of time with Tavros and that made him tempted to bring Tavros to his meetings. "Do you want to come to the meetings with me? It would give you a chance to meet the young ones and for everyone to know who you are."

"I... I guess so." He said. "Sounds okay." He frowned. "Do I need to wear anything... Specific?"

"No. Just clothes." Gamzee laughed.

"Okay." He smiled, leaning his head against him. "That sounds good."

"It's going to start soon so let's go." He sighed, shifting so he could sit up.

Tavros moved, sitting up and leaning against him. "Let's go."

When they arrived at the meeting hall, Gamzee took his seat on the throne. "Come here Tav. You get to sit here." He patted his lap.

Tavros gently sat down, making sure not to scratch Gamzee with his legs.

Gamzee nodded to Kairin who started the meeting with a bellowing yell. "The Grand Highblood and his matesprit, Tavros have begun the meeting. First on the agenda! Carnival plans."

"Speak." Gamzee said loudly.

Tavros looked around at everyone. He had never seen so many Subjugglators in one area before. This was insane madness.

"You're safe Tav." Gamzee said softly.

"Highblood, we request to know why we aren't following tradition with this Moon Rise."

"Because Tavros is a lowblood and I will not allow any to die if I can help it." Gamzee answered.

"A lowblood? But we thought he was a highblood, like you Highblood."

"He's not. His blood is the most miraculous motherfucking brown." He smiled softly, looking at Tavros.

Tavros' face flushed as he turned away from the gawking stares he was receiving. He cringed when a stray Subjugglator screamed, "BLASPHEMY OF THE MOTHERFUCKING MIRTHFUL MESSIAHS!"

"YOU WILL BE SILENT! IT IS MY CHOICE AS TO WHO IS MY MOTHER FUCKING MATESPRIT!" Gamzee yelled covering Tavros' ears. "HE IS UNDER MY PROTECTION AND IF ANY OF YOU SO MUCH AS FUCKING TOUCH HIM. I WILL KILL YOU."

The room grew to a dull roar. Tavros shivered slightly, looking back at him. His eyes were wide, but he was not afraid.

"The Grand Highblood chose his matesprit before becoming the Grand Highblood. We have no right to tell him that they can't be together." Kairin spoke up.

"But the blood caste!"

"But nothing. He killed the last Grand Highblood and he is our leader unless you wish to kill him and I know that none of you could even match the old Grand Highblood." Kairin said blankly.

Tavros cleared his throat. His voice was soft as he spoke. "The blood caste is gone."

"Not that it ever mattered to me anyways." Gamzee sighed. "Tavros is Tavros and my matesprit. He will be treated with the respect that you show me. Understood?"

The group of Subjugglators honked in unison. "Good. What's the next issue?"

"The bringing forth of the young 'lators." Someone said.

"Bring them forward." He said.

Three young Subjugglators were brought forward. Each one was a little bit taller than Gamzee, and a little bulkier. Tavros looked at them with big round eyes.

"Say your names and how old you are." He ordered.

"Kao. 11 sweeps." Said the first.

"Congratulations on surviving the trials and becoming one of Tavros' caretakers." Gamzee smiled at him.

"Next."

"Zakoi, 12 sweeps." Said the next.

"Tau, 12 sweeps." Said the last.

Gamzee congratulated each and every one of the three. "Kairin, next on the agenda? Or is there something else I need to do with this?"

Tavros looked to Kairin, who spoke sternly. "I believe they are to offer their services to Tavros."

"Have you all prepared a dish for us to sample?" Gamzee asked. All three nodded. "Kao, you're first."

All three nodded and moved to push forth their dishes to the pair. Tavros looked down at Kao's dish, blinking. He looked over at Gamzee, wondering if he should trust it.

"You aren't tasting them. I am." He smiled at Tavros. "You can try them after I do."

Tavros nodded, scooting to the side a bit so Gamzee could get to the plates.

Gamzee picked Kao's up, grabbing the fork. "What's in this?"

"Soy based beef over rice." He said. It was a simple meal.

"That sounds good." He smiled at Tavros. "What do you think Tav?

Tavros nodded. "It smells good at least." he said, smiling a little bit.

Gamzee took a bite of the dish. "This is pretty good. Try it Tav."

Tavros took the fork and took a bite. He nodded. "It is." he said, nodding his head a bit more as he took another bite of it.

"Don't eat it all Tav! You have other dishes to try!" Gamzee laughed, taking the fork and shoving another fork full of food into his mouth.

Tavros nodded. "I know I know." he said, squirming around a bit.

Together they tried the various dishes. "I'm so full!" He grinned, rubbing his belly.

* * *

><p>Eridan laid back on the couch, resting his head against the pillow as he looked over at the TV with vague interest. Addison was asleep on his chest, curled up his fins moving slightly against his cheeks. He smiled and patted his head.<p>

Feferi walked into the house after a long day at the Marine Biology center. "Eri, Addy! I'm home!" She smiled, walking into the living room. "Well, look at my boys! All snuggled up on the couch!"

Eridan looked over at her. "Wwelcome home, Fef." He smiled. "Addy fell asleep on me wwhile wwatchin his showw." he smiled. "There's nothin on TV today. Wwith school bein out and such, it's hard."

"Has he told you how excited he is about starting school soon?" She asked, sitting by his feet. "He won't stop talking about it and how excited he is that Carmine is in his class. It's so glubbing cute!"

"I bet. He hasn't told me much about it." He smiled. "I can't wwait until he starts school up." He smiled. "Howw wwas wwork?"

"The cuttlefish are doing well! Their eggs are about to hatch!" She smiled softly, rubbing his leg. "How did your meeting yesterday go?"

"It wwas good. Just the same old boring stuff y'knoww?" He sighed. "I really should look for another job..."

"I thought you liked working at the school. If you did start looking, what would you want to do?" Feferi asked. "The center could always use more help but what would we do with Addy?"

"I don't knoww." He sighed. "That's the thing... I'd have to really look into it and I don't knoww wwhat I wwant to do."

"Well, no matter what you decide to do, I'll support you!" She smiled brightly at him. "Why don't we put Addy in his bed and snuggle some, just us?"

"Sounds glubbin wwonderful." He said, gently picking Addison up, taking him into his bedroom.

Feferi settled down on the couch, laying in a position that Eridan could easily lay with her. "Ah." She sighed softly as she hummed a song that she had learned at her work.

Eridan came back, wobbling over to the couch, curling up with her. "My leg is asleep." He snuggled up against her. "Mmmm~ You smell like the sea... I miss the sea."

"We bought that summer house." She smiled softly at him. "We should go when you two have fall break."

"Wwe should." He said, smiling brightly. "I really like that idea, Fef. Let's plan for that, yeah?"

"Maybe Sollux, Karkat and Carmine would like to come!" She grinned widely, leaning against him. "This is going to be awesome!"

"That wwould be neat." he smiled, snuggling against her. He twirled his long spindly fingers in her hair. "Wwe should let Addy and Carmine havve a play date or somefin." he smiled. "The last time they saww each other they were grubs."

"I agree. He's so excited to see her on Monday. Can you believe it's only 4 more days until he starts school?" Feferi sighed. "We need to take lots of pictures."

"I'm shocked. Summer has gone by so quick." he smiled. "Wwe should get evvery one together and go swwimmin one last time before evveryone leavves to go wwherevver."

"Gamzee leaves in two days and Karkat is so busy with the restaurant and Sollux has school... I think it'll be hard to get everyone together." She said softly. "We could have one of those grill out things! I hear about them a lot at work!"

"Wwe could grill the neww recipes you had printed." he smiled. "The ones for the vveggie burgers."

"Yeah!" She smiled. "Too bad that Gamzee won't be able to come. We'll need at least a few days to get everything prepared and let everyone know."

"Yeah...Wwe can still invvite Tavv ovver." Eridan said softly, running his fingers through her hair gently, his fingers waving gently over her ear fin.

Feferi relaxed even more. "Yeah. I bet he's going to be lonely while Gamzee is at Moon Rise."

"Maybe one day the kids can stay ovver there. They'd love that." He grinned wider. "I mean come on, their house is like a fuckin mansion. Plus it wwould givve us a bit of alone time."

"Addy would love that." She smiled. "You're so adorabubble Eri!" Feferi giggled, kissing him gently.

Eridan smiled, kissing her back. "I glub you so much, Fef."

"Ewwww, Kissin is gross." Addison said, making a face as he came out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes.

"Addy!" Feferi smiled. "Come over here and let me hug you!"

Addison frowned and walked over, flopping down on Eridan's back, pushing him further down against Feferi.

"Addy!" Eridan said, scowling a bit.

"I hope you know that one day, kissing won't be gross to you." She smiled pulling Addison off of Eridan's back and hugging him tightly.

Addison snuggled against her. "Meh, I guess." he said, his fins moving back against his head. "Mom, are you sure no one wwill make fun of my fins?"

"I'm sure and if they do, let me know and I'll go talk to them!" She smiled softly. "Or you can always tell Eri!"

Addison frowned. "Alright..." He said, hugging her tightly.

Eridan sighed. "Addison, wwould you like to go make a vvisit to Sol and Kar and Carmine? Wwe can surprise them."

"That's sounds like a good idea! We should go!" Feferi smiled. "It's up to you though Addy!"

Addison shrugged. "Sure wwhy not." he said, walking back into the bedroom to find something clean to wear.

Eridan smiled. "He kinda reminds me of myself as a wwriggler."

"He does. No wonder he's so attached to me!" Feferi laughed. "We should call the Captor's and warn them."

"Alright." Eridan said, picking up the phone. He dialed the familiar number and waited.

"Hello? Carmine! Put that down! We don't need it!" Karkat said pulling partially away from the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Kar," Eridan said quietly. "Wwas wwonderin wwhat you wwere up to."

"Trying to make some dessert with Carmine." He laughed. "We don't need the honey yet!"

"We alwayth need honey!" Carmine smiled.

"Not yet. It goes on top!"

"Wwould it be alright if wwe came over wwith Addison and stayed for a bit? I figured it wwould be kinda nice to havve a little play date." he smiled, gently slipping his arm around Feferi's waist, pulling her close.

"Yeah! Carmine will be so excited!" Karkat smiled, moving away from the phone for a second. "Sollux! Eridan, Feferi and Addison are coming over!" He yelled. "I'll see you in a bit! Bye Eridan!"

Eridan smiled, hanging up the phone. "It's all set." he said, gently pulling Feferi in for a kiss. Addison blew a raspberry as soon as he came back into the room, slinging a bag over his shoulder.

Feferi pulled away for a second. "I suggest you turn around, Addy." She smiled before looking back at Eridan and kissing him softly.

Addison pouted. "Ee-eeeewww." he said, turning up his nose.

Eridan laughed softly, kissing Feferi again. "Get ovver it, Addy." he smiled. "Wwe lovve each other. This is wwhat you do wwhen you lovve each other." he smiled.

Feferi smiled softly. "You'll understand one day, Tadpole." She bent down and picked up her son, pushing his hair back from his face. "Are you excited to see Carmine again?"

Addison nodded his head. "Yeeeee-ah!" he said, smiling. "I am!"

The group made their way over to the Captor-Vantas house. Feferi knocked on the door lightly, Addison at her side. "Wait until they say come in before you run inside and attack Carmine." She laughed.

"Carmine! Can you go get the door?" Karkat asked.

Carmine nodded frantically. "Addy'th here!" She grinned as she went to the door and opened it with her powers.

Addison grinned as the door opened, his fins flapping in excitement. "Carmineeee-eee"

Eridan laughed, taking a step inside.

"Addy!" Carmine smiled hugging him tightly. "I haven't theen you in forever!"

"Let's go inside you two." Feferi smiled softly.

"Kar, long time no see." Eridan said, a big smile on his face.

Sollux came walking down the stairs, walking up and giving Eridan a big hug. "Hey bro."

Addison grinned. "Howw havve you been Carmine?" he smiled wide, his fangs glinting in the light.

"Awethome!" She smiled. "I wath helping Mommy make brownieth!"

Karkat walked out of the kitchen. "The brownies are in the oven!" He smiled walking over and hugging Feferi and Eridan. "How are you two?"

Eridan smiled. "Wwonderful." he said. "Couldn't be happier." he replied, his grin widening. "Had a lovvely afternoon of hangin around wwith Fef and Addy."

Sollux smiled, leaning against the counter, gently pulling Karkat close to him.

"Browwnies? Awwesome-e"

"That sounds nice." Karkat smiled, leaning against Sollux. "Too bad Sollux has to leave for school soon."

"When they are done, we put honey on them and eat them! Do you like honey Addy?" Carmine asked, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the living room.

Sollux nodded. "Yeah, for the boringetht thit ever." he said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't knoww if I'vve ever had honey..." he said, following along with her.

Karkat smiled at him. "You know you need it for your license."

"Daddy, can I give Addy thome honey to try?" Carmine asked, looking up at Sollux.

"It's alright with me." Feferi smiled down at her.

Eridan nodded.

Sollux sighed. "Yeah Yeah I know." he said, frowning. "Thtill... I with I could jutht take the thtupid tetht and get it over with."

Carmine's face lit up. "Follow me Addy!" She said as she ran to the kitchen. Before running into the table, she used her powers to levitate herself onto the table, grabbing the bottle of honey. She jumped off the table, landing with a small thump. "Thtick your finger out and I'll put thome on there."

Addison watched with amazement. "Ww-Wwhoa! Howw do you do that?!" he gasped out, pointing at her.

"I have thionikth! Daddy hath them too! Hith are better than mine..." She looked down at the ground. "I'm not thtrong like Daddy..."

"Still... That's pretty amazin." He said, his eyes wide. "Maybe one day you'll be strong like him and I'll be strong like my dad."

"But you're already thtrong, Addy! You picked me up!" Carmine smiled. "Now, finger out tho I can put thome honey on it for you to try!"

Addison nodded, sticking out his finger, which was already long and spindly like his father's hands.

Carmine carefully placed a drop of honey on the tip of his finger. "Tathte it! It'th yummy!"

Addison stuck the finger in his mouth, sucking on it gently. "Yum!" he said, smiling brightly. "Yum yum yum"

The little psionic grinned widely. "Ithn't it amathing?" She put some on her finger. "Mommy tellth me not to eat too much before I have dinner."

"It's really swweeee-et." he grinned and held out his finger. "More?"

She smiled as she put more on his finger. "Don't eat too much or you won't have room for the brownieth."

"Pssh, I'll alwways have room for swweee-ets." he grinned even wider, wiggling around as he stuck his finger back in his mouth.

Carmine giggled. "Let'th go play in my room! I have a new game!"

"Okay!" He followed her up the stairs.

Eridan smiled. "It's so nice seein them get along."

Sollux smiled. "Thit..." He looked at the time. "Gotta go to clath... I'll be back later, hun." He leaned over and kissed Karkat gently. "I'mma go thay bye to Carmine real quick." He hurried and headed up the stairs.

Karkat smiled. "He's been almost late every day this week." He shook his head. "I know he doesn't like class but he only has 3 sessions he can miss in each class."

"Hi Daddy! Are you going to thchool now?" Carmine asked, getting the board game from her closet.

Sollux nodded. "Yup. Give me a kith." he said.

Carmine levitated up to her father and wrapped her arms around him. "Have a good clath tonight Daddy! I love you!" She smiled, kissing his cheek.

"I will. Thankth honey." he smiled and put Carmine down.

Eridan frowned. "That's a shame. Is it really that bad for him?"

"It's all basic stuff and he knows all of it. Plus, most of the people in his classes are humans so he feels left out." Karkat sighed softly. "He texts me when he has break."

"I can imagine that must be hard for him." Eridan said, leaning against the counter.

"It is but he'll get through it." He smiled softly. "It's a bit rough on all of us. We don't get a lot of time together as a family or alone." He sighed softly. "But we can't leave Carmine by herself during the day while I'm at work. Hey Honey Bee." Karkat smiled, seeing Sollux come down the stairs.

Sollux smiled. "Gotta head out, I'll be back tonight." he grabbed his keys, and his backpack before heading out.

"Whale, maybe wwe could wwatch the kiddos one day if perhaps you do the same for us on a day that Sol doesn't havve school?"

"Sounds like a deal." Karkat smiled. "I'll let you know the next time he has a day off."

Eridan smiled. "Anyfin for a friend."

Addison yawned. "Are wwe gonna play?"

"Yeah. I had to hug Daddy before he went to thchool!" She smiled sitting on the ground by Addison. "Thith ith how you play." She said before giving him instructions on the game. "Thound eathy?"

"Yeah." Addison replied, laying on his stomach, looking at the board.

The two wrigglers started their game, yelling at the board whenever something didn't go right. "Daddy thayth that I have Mommy'th anger... Do I theem mean to you Addy?" She asked softly.

Addison shook his head, laughing a bit. "I havve my dad's attitude." he smiled.

"And hith thtutter!" Carmine smiled at him. "At leatht you don't have a lithp..." She sighed softly. "Mommy thayth it'th cute but I don't know..."

"I think it's cute." he smiled. "It's a part of wwho you are."

Carmine's expression brightened. "Thankth Addy!" She hugged him tightly.

"Carmine, Addison, the brownies are done!" Karkat yelled as he pulled them from the oven. "A vacation at a beach house sounds nice. I'm sure the bees will be ecstatic."

"Maybe wwe can evven teach Sol to swwim?" he grinned. "Wwe'll get Addy in the wwater and get his gills movvin."

Addison stretched and yawned. "Browwnies are done."

Carmine stood and grabbed Addison's hand. "Let'th go Addy!"

"That would be hilarious. He hasn't been in water, besides bathing, since we went to Disney World back in high school." Karkat laughed. "I wonder how Carmine would do in water."

"Probably better than Sol, if she's related to you." he laughed and breathed in the smell of fresh brownies. "Those smell fuckin delicious."

Addison followed closely behind her.

"Thanks Eridan. They have dark chocolate chips in them." He smiled, setting them on the table. "Carmine and Sollux love their chocolate and honey mix."

"Are you ekthited for thchool? I am!" Carmine smiled.

"Oh I bet they do." Eridan said, grinning.

"I am too, but I'm nervvous that people are gonna make fun of my fins..." Addison said, frowning.

"If anyone doeth, I'll beat them up!" She smiled. "I like your finth! They're adorabubble!" Carmine laughed. She remembered Feferi calling her that when she was a grub.

"Waaaaah you just said adorabubble and that's somefin Mom says." he laughed.

"I remember her thaying that to uth when we were grubth." Carmine giggled. "I thought it would help make you believe me!"

"I believve you." He said, frowning. "I just wworry. I'vve nevver had any contact wwith humans and I don't knoww howw they're gonna react to a seatroll like me."

Carmine wrapped her little arms around her friend. "No matter what, I'm here for you Addy!"

"Awwww." he flushed pink and squirmed a bit. "Thanks. I'll stick up for you too."

Carmine smiled brightly. "Brownieth!" She giggled before taking off toward the kitchen.

Addison follows close by, his fins flapping slightly as he ran into Eridan's leg, whimpering.

Eridan gently papped his head. "Careful."

"Addy!" Carmine gasped. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... Just a bit shocked I'm fine." He stepped back, rubbing his cheek. It was lightly bruised, and tears of faint pink leaked from the corners of his eyes, but he wiped them away quickly, wanting to be strong.

Carmine hugged him. "I'm thorry. I made you run into Uncle Eridan..."

"It's okay." he said, rubbing his eyes. "I'll be fine. I wwant a browwnie please..."

Karkat smiled and handed him a brownie. "Do you want honey on it?"

He nodded quickly, holding out his hands.

Eridan smiled, gently kneeling on the ground. "You gonna be okay?" he asked, touching his cheek, where a light bruise was forming.

Addison nodded. "I'll be okay." he smiled back at his dad.

Karkat poured a little bit of honey on the brownie. "Here you go Addison. CARMINE! DON'T YOU EVEN THINK OF TRYING TO COVER THE WHOLE PAN WITH HONEY!"

Addison jumped, almost dropping the brownie.

Eridan looked up at him, laughing. "Kar, wwhat the hell."

"Sorry guys. She likes to put honey on everything, even if no one else wants it." He smiled softly.

"Reminds me of Sol." Eridan said, standing up and shaking his head. "I don't mind havvin honey on mine. Fef?"

"I don't mind." She shook her head.

Carmine giggled wickedly slathering the entire pan of brownies with honey. "I win!"

Eridan watched her and shook his head. "That's Sol's kid for sure." he laughed.

"You're telling me." Karkat sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do with the both of them. I love my bees but they are just so... Honey obsessed!" He smiled softly.

"Kar, that's wwhat you get wwhen you havve offspring wwith someone wwho lovves bees as much as Sol does." Eridan smiled. "It's like me and fish puns. Fef makes em more than me though."

"You love my fish puns!" Feferi pouted.

"It's fine. It can be cute sometimes but I worry about their health and they don't care as long as there's honey." He laughed.

"I do." he smiled. "I lovve your fish puns so glubbin much, lovve." He turned back to Karkat. "Wwell maybe it's a good fin for Sol, he's so skinny anymore."

"The doctor said that he can't gain weight. But from what I've noticed, he recently has been getting a little pudgy." He smiled. "I hope all the honey is working!"

"It wworries me. The more he gets stressed, the less he eats. Maybe it's all the good food you're feeding him." Eridan smiled. "You're a wwonderful matesprit to him."

"I try. Really hard." Karkat's smile turned slightly painful and he was sure that Eridan and Feferi could see it. "We haven't been fighting recently which is good, don't get me wrong. I just... He stays inside all the time and he says that it's because he's afraid that he'll fuck up..." He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "It's been even worse since my blood turned back to red."

"Wwhat do you mean by fuck up?" Eridan asked, concerned about the state of his moirail.

"The Katie incident. He has hardly left the house since and the last time he talked to her was on his birthday. She brought him some honey from France. Carmine told me." Karkat said softly. "He blames it on himself... I wonder sometimes if I really am a good enough matesprit." He sighed. At the thought of the whole ordeal, his chest began to hurt slightly.

Eridan frowned. "Kar, trust me. Sol is... I don't knoww howw to really describe him. He's vvery strange, but he lovves you vvery much. There's not a doubt there at all."

"Wait... Karcrab's blood is red again?" Feferi asked.

Karkat nodded. "Yeah, it is. I know he loves me but I just... I don't know if I make him happy." He sighed.

"Mommy. Do I have to call Daddy again?" Carmine asked, eating her third brownie.

"No Bumblebee. I'm fine."

"Kar, trust me, you make him happy. If you didn't, Kar, Sol wwould havve been long gone. He's that kind of person." He frowned. "He lovves you."

"Thanks Eridan." He smiled at him. "Bumblebee. You do not need any more than 3 brownies!" He scolded his daughter. 'I wonder if we had these types of problems in the timeline that Carmine came from...'

Eridan patted his shoulder. "It'll be alright." he said.

Addison pouted. "Carmine I wwant another" he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"How many have you two had?" Karkat asked, shaking his head at the wrigglers. "We have to save some for Sollux!"

"I'vve only had one..." Addison pouted.

Eridan laughed. "Wwrap up a couple and savve them for Sol. I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

"You can have two more Addison but I need to get a few for Sollux before I let you loose on them." He laughed.

Addison nodded, watching as he wrapped up the food.

Karkat wrapped the brownies quickly, putting them on the counter. "Have at them." He smiled at Addison.

"Remember, only two Addy!" Feferi said, trying to be stern.

Addison walked up to the counter, looking into the pan. He picked the two biggest brownies that were left, shoving half of one in his mouth.

Carmine pouted. "I want another brownie..."

"You have already had 3, you don't need anymore. Plus, I'm making your favorite for dinner and you don't want to be so full of brownie that you can't eat it!" Karkat smiled at his daughter.

"Really? You're making honey barbeque chicken? Can Addy thtay for dinner?"

"That's up to his parents."

Eridan frowned. "Maybe I mean..." He looked down at Carmine. "Wwe don't eat meat see..."

"Oh..." She looked down, obviously upset. "That'th okay." she frowned.

"It's okay Carmine." Karkat smiled, patting her head.

"There wwill be other times, I promise." Eridan said, patting her on the head. "Okay?"

She nodded, fighting off tears. Carmine was convinced that it was something she did, another trait from Karkat...

"Why don't you and Addison go play? We have those new video games in the living room." Karkat suggested.

Addison gently grabbed her hand and pulled her along into the living room.

Eridan frowned. "Sorry Kar..."

"It's fine. I didn't know Addison was a vegetarian too." He sighed. "She's going to have to learn eventually that not everyone is like us."

"It's just part of bein a seadwweller. Our bodies can't handle red meat vvery wwell, and Addy experienced that first hand wwhen he wwas a grub. Someone gavve him a bit of steak once and he got real sick..." he sighed and looked in after them.

"I know. That person was Gamzee by the way." He laughed. "I told him that it wasn't a good idea."

Addison frowned. "You gonna be okay?" he asked, looking at Carmine.

Carmine nodded, rubbing her eyes to keep the tears from falling. "I'm thorry Addy."

Addison wrapped his arms around her tightly. "It's fin, Carmine. really."

Eridan sighed. "Yeah. Gamzee... Isn't the most careful, but it's alright." He looked at Feferi with deep purple eyes. "He's still one of us."

Carmine started to cry, wrapping her arms tightly around her only friend. "You're my betht friend Addy."

Addison frowned. "Hey... It's okay..." He gently rubbed her back. "Hey... Wwhy you cryin?"

"My question is can you eat white meat? Chicken isn't red meat..." Karkat said softly.

Eridan looked to Feferi. "I... Don't think I'vve ever eaten wwhite meat before." he said softly. "Besides fish a course."

"We could try it. We have stronger stomachs than Addy does..." She shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm thorry..." Carmine whispered. "I jutht really wanted to have my favorite food with you..."

"It's okay Carmine." He said, gently holding her. "I just can't eat meat is all. Nothin wwrong wwith you or anyfin."

"True. Let's go ahead and givve it a try." Eridan said. He wasn't up for much, and he decided he would at least give it a try... It wouldn't hurt. He had a low tolerance for the food of the land dwellers, besides vegetables and milk. Even those sometimes made Eridan a little queasy, but he had to eat something other than fish.

Karkat went over to the fridge and grabbed some of the chicken they had eaten a few nights prior. "I was going to make chicken salad with this but we can spare a little. It's got a little lemon and onion." He handed the sea dwellers a small piece of chicken.

Feferi ate hers, smiling at the taste. "It's not bad."

"Okay..." She sniffled hugging her friend tighter before pulling away. "Let'th play a

game!"

Addison nodded. "Le-eets."

Eridan took the small piece, sticking it in his mouth. It wasn't bad, but he couldn't get over the texture of it. "It's not bad... But I'm not shore if I like it or not." he frowned. "Addy might be able to handle it."

Carmine smiled as she put the game in the system. "I'll let you play with the blue controller."

"I think it'll be fin!" Feferi smiled at Karkat. "Addy! You're staying for dinner!"

Addison looked back and grinned. "O-Okay!" He said, taking the blue controller.

Carmine dropped her controller in favor of hugging her best friend. "Did you hear Addy? You can stay for dinner!"

"Yeah!" he smiled and leaned on her.

"Carmine is really easily excited yeah?" Eridan said, laughing a little bit.

"Yeah. She doesn't really like being outside in the open very much. I think that might be because of the timeline she came from." He sighed. "Either way, she doesn't play with the other kids that live here... I worry about her developing social anxieties like Sollux has."

"Maybe it's a good thing that she's got Addy." Eridan commented, tapping his chin.

"I sea a budding Moirailallegiance or maybe even Matespritship!" Feferi giggled.

"That would be so cute!" Karkat grinned. "I should start cooking. Carmine, Addison! Want to help me cook?"

"Let'th go Addy! Thith ith my favorite part of dinnertime!" Carmine giggled grabbing his hand and pulling him back into the kitchen.

Addison whimpered. "Gaaah." He followed along, being dragged into the kitchen once more. Eridan sighed. "Fef, let's go sit on the couch or somefin."

"Are you okay Eri?" She asked worried about her matesprit.

"I'm sorry if the chicken made you sick." Karkat said softly as he gathered ingredients.

"Yeah, I'm fin." He said. "I'm alright. Just want a little cuddle." he smiled.

Feferi smiled and curled up with Eridan. "I love you Erifin!"

"Okay, Carmine, get the chicken from the fridge. Addison, Can you get me the barbeque sauce off of the table?" Karkat asked.

Addison nodded, reaching up on the table for the barbeque sauce.

Eridan smiled and nuzzled her. "This is nice." he said quietly.

"Maybe we should get a private chef." Feferi giggled, kissing his cheek. "Or maybe, Addy can stay here tonight..."

"Mmmm... I think Addy wwould like that a lot." He said, kissing her cheek, his fins brushing against hers gently.

"Let's ask Karkat and see what he says." She whispered, kissing him gently.

"Sounds wwonderful." he smiled and stood up. "I'll go ask."

Karkat instructed the kids on how to help him with their dinner for that evening. "Carmine, gently stir the honey into the barbeque sauce. Addison, please bring the little brush over here. Oh, hey Eridan!" He smiled as Eridan walked into the kitchen.

Eridan smiled. "Howw is it goin?" He grinned and leaned against the wall, watching Addison and Carmine scurry around.

"Interestingly." Karkat laughed. "I'm not used to working with two wrigglers. It's a little more efficient this way though. They listen more than some of the guys I work with do."

"I had a question for you Kar." He smiled and watched them.

"Yeah?" He asked, pausing with flipping the chicken. "What's up?"

"Wwould it be alright if Addy stayed the night here? I knoww it's a lot to ask, but Fef and I havven't had a night alone for... Wwell a long time..." he flushed purple and looked away slightly. "I'll make it up to you sometime and Carmine can come stay wwith us and you and Sol can havve a night together."

"Not a problem! I have tomorrow off anyways since Gamzee is leaving the day after. You guys do a lot for us, so it's not a big deal!" He smiled.

"R-Reely?" He smiled a fanged grin and gently walked over and hugged Karkat gently, being mindful that he was cooking food.

"You guys have taken Carmine for us before! Granted it was Sollux's birthday but still. It's the least we could do to thank you two!" He hugged him back. "I have to get back to the food before it burns."

"Thanks, Kar. It means a lot." he hurried out of the kitchen, back into Feferi's arms. "Kar is gonna look after him tonight."

"Yay!" Feferi smiled, sitting up a little.

Together they waited until food was ready. Soon it was ready to be eaten, and Addison stumbled into the living room, jumping on them. "Food is done!"

"We'll be in in just a moment Addy." Feferi smiled at her son, curling back up with Eridan for a moment.

Eridan smiled, kissing her gently. "You ready to go in there? I might not eat much... The chicken didn't settle wwell wwith me."

"He made a salad too. You know how Karkat is. It has to be balanced!" She laughed, kissing him again. "So, dinner and then home?"

"Yes. That sounds wwonderful." He smiled, gently standing, holding out his arms for her.

Feferi took his hands, smiling as she stood in his arms. "I love you."

"I lovve you too." he said. "Let's go eat. I'm starvvin."

She nodded, following him to the kitchen. "That smells delicious Karcrab!"

Eridan smiled, taking a seat in the kitchen.

"I made a salad too so there is something for Eridan to eat." Karkat smiled as he sat the bowl on the table.

Feferi nodded, sitting beside him.

He smiled. "Thank you." he said, picking up his fork. "Kar you're such a wwonderful chef. I'm shore Sol is proud."

"Daddy thayth that Mommy ith a good cook all the time!" Carmine smiled.

"He does." Karkat grinned.

"You two are so cute!" The magenta troll laughed.

"Indeed." Eridan said, grinning widely. He started eating the salad.

They finished the meal and Karkat had the kids help him clean up. "Addison, you should go say bye to your parents before they leave."

Addison nodded. "Byeeeee mommy Byeeeee daddy!" he smiled, hugging them both.

"We'll be by tomorrow afternoon to come get you Addy." Feferi smiled, kissing his cheek. "We love you!"

Addison nodded, grinning. "I'll see you guys yeah?" He smiled and hugged them tightly again. 'Thank you!"

"Have fun with Carmine!" Feferi smiled as she and Eridan walked out the door.

"Hey Addy, let'th go play in my room!" Carmine smiled after they had finished helping Karkat clean.

Addison nodded, and followed her.

Carmine grabbed his hand. "I'm tho ekthited that you get to thtay the night! Thith ith going to be awethome!"

"Wwhat are wwe gonna do?" Addison asked, following along closely. "I'm E-xcite-ed!" He grinned.

"We can play gameth or read thome of my bookth! Or we could watch thome movieth!" She laughed.

"Okay." Addison smiled, looking around her room for something to do.

"Ith there anything you want to do, Addy?" Carmine asked softly.

"Nnnn... I don't knoww." He said quietly, looking at her.

"I told you the optionth. Maybe we can convinthe Mommy to take uth to eyethe cream!" She grinned widely.

"Ice cream? That sounds awwesome"

"Let'th go athk!" She smiled, grabbing his hand again.

Addison struggled to keep up, following along.

Carmine grinned, using her psionics to pick them both up. "Have you ever flown before, Addy?"

Addison gasped and looked around wildly, squirming. "W-Wh-Wwhat"

Carmine giggled. "Ithn't thith fun?"

"I'm scared!" Addison cried out.

"Why? Don't you trutht me? I won't let you fall!" Carmine said softly. "Addy ith my only friend."

"Still..." he whimpered "It's scary..."

"Thorry..." She said softly, setting him down. "I didn't mean to thcare you.."

Addison frowned, liking how his feet were firmly planted on the ground. "It's okay. I'm just not used to it." he said, crossing his arms. "I'll get used to it efintually."

"Yeah..." Carmine frowned, letting herself go back to the ground.

Addison put on a face of pompousness. "Let's go ask for ice cream."

"Okay." She said softly, following him.

"Uncle Kar?" Addison said, standing down near his legs, looking up at him with his big eyes.

"Yes Addison?" Karkat asked, looking down at him. "Something wrong?"

"Wwe wwant ice cream." he said, bouncing a little bit.

"Oh really? Well I think I can help that. Go get your shoes on and we'll go get some." He smiled at the wrigglers.

Addison smiled widely, running to go get his shoes.

Carmine followed after him. "Wait for me Addy!"

"Can't catch me!" he said, running through the house at full speed.

Carmine grinned, using her psionics to make her fly. She waved as she passed Addison and went upstairs to grab her shoes.

"T-That's not fair!" he said as he hurried up the stairs, panting quietly as he got to the top, pouting at Carmine.

"You never thaid that I couldn't uthe my powerth." She smiled as she finished putting her shoes on. "Hurry up thlowpoke!"

He pouted and plopped down on the floor, taking his sweet time tying his shoes.

Carmine glared at him with the passion of 1,000 suns. Okay, so maybe more like a little psionic who was being deprived of ice cream.

Addison slowly pulled the other shoe on, slowly fixing the tongue of the shoe, and ever so painfully slow began tying the shoe lace. Oops he made a mistake. Better try again.

Carmine was starting to get really pissed. She decided that the only thing to do would be to do it herself. Crossing her arms, she used her psionics to push his hands away and tie the last shoe. "Get up. I want eyethe cream." She glared at him.

"HEY!" Addison said, growling. "You messed it up." He untied it again, retying it the way he wanted it done.

"HURRY UP ADDY!" She yelled.

Karkat sighed and went upstairs. "Carmine, what's going on?"

"Mommy! Addy won't get hith thoeth on tho we can go!" She yelled again.

Addison pouted. "Wwell stop yelling at M-E!" he said, standing up and shouting.

"Both of you stop yelling!" Karkat said, raising his voice a little. "Or neither of you get ice cream!"

Addison pouted and huffed.

"Addison, take your time. Carmine, go downstairs and get my wallet." Karkat sighed, shaking his head. "You two..."

Addison made a soft noise, sitting back down to fix his shoes. "Hmph."

"Don't pout, Addison. You both are still getting ice cream." Karkat smiled at him.

"Carmine didn't havve to be mean about it..." he sighed and stood, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She's just impatient. She gets that from me." He laughed softly. "Well, Sollux is impatient too... Guess it's just a family thing."

Addison nodded. "Dad is impatient too."

Karkat laughed a little. "Yeah he is."

Addison sighed and walked back downstairs, seeing Carmine sitting there.

Carmine looked at the ground, Karkat's wallet on the step beside her as she mumbled to herself.

"Sorry..." Addison said quietly, sitting down next to her.

Karkat sighed. For years, he had asked Sollux that same question. 'This is going to be interesting...'

"I'm thorry too..." She whispered, looking at him. "Are we thtill friendth?"

"Yes. A course." Addison said, smiling.

Carmine hugged Addison tightly. "Good!"

Addison stood up. "Ice-eeee cream."

"Let's go you two." Karkat smiled.

Carmine grabbed Addison's hand. "Ith thith okay?"

"Yeah." Addison said, swinging their arms back and forth.

Carmine giggled as they went out to the car. "What kind do you want, Addy? We need to be prepared!"

"Hmmmm..." Addison tapped his chin. "I dunno"

"I hope they have blue and red!" Carmine giggled.

"Blue and red icecream?" Addison asked. "Sounds gross..."

"It'th really good!" She smiled at him. "Daddy liketh it too!"

"I bet he does." Addison said, turning his nose up at the idea.

"Why don't you like Daddy?" Carmine asked him. "Wath he mean to you?"

"No." He said simply, crossing his arms.

"Then why don't you like him? You like me and Mommy..." She said softly.

"I dont knoww." Addison said, looking away.

"Oh... Okay..." Carmine said softly. Why did she keep making her only friend mad?

Addison sighed and hopped into the wagon.

Carmine crawled into the wagon as well. "Addy... Can I hold your hand again?"

* * *

><p>Eridan took her hand, following the path to the car.<p>

"This is so exciting!" She giggled, pulling Eridan close to her.

"It reely is." he smiled and leaned over and kissed her before getting into the car.

Feferi giggled the entire way back to their house. It had been forever since the two of them had had any alone time and it was now something that they realized they needed a little of.

Eridan smiled, gently pulling her into his arms, holding her close against his body.

"Well, Mr. Ampora. We are alone now. So what shall we do?" Feferi asked, smiling.

"Hmmm~ I don't know, Mrs. Ampora." He smiled and kissed her gently.

Feferi kissed him back, her arms wrapping around his shoulders.

Eridan kissed her back, his hands moving over her back gently.

After a moment, Feferi pulled away. "Bedroom?"

Eridan nodded, smiling as he walked with her.

The magenta troll laid her head on her matesprit's shoulder as they made their way to their bedroom. She sighed happily, ecstatic to be alone with him.

Eridan pulled her into the bedroom, pushing the door shut, pulling her into a kiss.

Feferi slipped her fingers into his hair. She smiled into the kiss as his fingers traced down her spine, sending shivers through her body.

Eridan smiled into the kiss, his own fingers gently working their way into Feferi's hair, holding her close to him.

Feferi pulled back a little. "Take me to the bed, Eri..."

Eridan nodded, gently carrying her to the bed.

Feferi wrapped her legs around his waist, gently kissing his fins. "I love you so much Eri."

"I lovve you too." he smiled, setting her on the bed, grinning widely as he laid over her.

Smiling, she continued to kiss his fins, her fingers pushing his shirt up. "Eri..." Feferi whispered in his ear.

Eridan shivered. "Fef..." He whispered, his fins standing out from his face, brushing against her face.

Feferi pushed his shirt up his chest, revealing his side gills. Gently, she ran his fingers over them before kissing him deeply.

Eridan shuddered in delight, kissing her back. It had been ages since the two had been together like this. He whimpered into the kiss, his own fingers gently running down the sides of her shirt, feeling for the hem with careful fingers.

Feferi pulled away slightly. "Shirt off. Now." She said softly, pushing his shirt up impatiently.

Eridan pulled back from the kiss, pulling the shirt off over his head, revealing his gently muscled chest. He tugged at Feferi's shirt gently. "Mmmm... Help?" he asked quietly.

Feferi pulled her shoulders off the bed using Eridan to keep her up while he removed her shirt. "I knew I should have worn the dress today..."

"It wwould a gotten messy if wwe'd a done this." he smiled. "It's alright, Fef. I don't mind you in this at all." he said, tossing the shirt to the ground, working on the other bits of fabric concealing her.

"I know but it's easier to get out of a dress." She said softly, raising her hips to help him get rid of her skirt.

He slid the skirt off her hips, letting her undergarments come with them. He worked on his pants, kicking them off the bed. He placed kisses on her neck and chest, his finger fluttering over her stomach.

"Eri." She moaned softly, watching his fingers.

Eridan smiled, resting his head against her neck. "Mmmm... Fef I'vve truly missed this." he said, his hand shifting lower on her body, gently rubbing her thighs.

Feferi nodded, rubbing his arms as she spread her thighs a little further. She kissed his shoulder, her breath shuddering as his fingers traveled closer to her nook.

Eridan purred softly, humming as his fingers gently brushed over the sensitive flesh of the bone sheath.

"Aaah." Feferi whimpered, shivers running through her. She tangled her fingers in his hair again before pulling him into a kiss.

"Fef..." he whispered, kissing her gently, his fingers slipping lower, seeking her nook.

She moaned against his shoulder when his fingers found their target. "Oh Eri!" She gasped.

Eridan smiled, slipping a finger inside, gently stroking the inside, purring against her neck.

Feferi kissed his shoulder again, moaning softly. She missed this feeling. Her kisses moved up to his neck as her sheath started to open.

Eridan pushed his hips against her thigh, his fingers working diligently.

"Eri!" Feferi exclaimed, pushing down on his fingers. "Oh cod..."

He smiled, gently kissing her neck, his other hand tangling in her hair, pulling her over for a kiss. "Mmmm Fef."

Feferi kissed him deeply, letting her tongue brush against his lips. "Eri. I want you."

Eridan nodded. "I knoww." he said, feeling his own bulge slowly start to slink its way from his body.

Shifting slightly, she let her hand drift to his bulge, brushing her fingers against it gently.

Eridan let out a soft purr, turning his attention to her hand. He shifted his fingers gently, pulling them back, glancing at the fuchsia material on them.

Feferi moved her hand against his bulge a little harder.

Eridan groaned softly, shifting his hips so she could get better access to it.

Feferi started to move her hand faster, smiling as it fully revealed itself. Softly, she kissed his neck again then moved closer to his fins.

Eridan moaned softly. "Fef... I... Ahhh..."

"Eri. I want it... Now." She whispered against his fin before kissing it softly.

Eridan moaned softly. "Alright." he said quietly, shifting over her, his bulge quickly entwining with hers, his body reacting with a shudder. "O-Oh Fef..."

"Ahh! Eri!" She gasped quietly as their bulges moved together. Slowly, she shifted her hips a little, moaning as she did so.

Eridan moaned quietly, gently holding onto her, feeling his bulge seek out her nook. Slowly it wriggled inside, and he cried out, feeling his bulge surrounded by the warmth.

Feferi moaned loudly, pushing her hips up a little. "Oh cod!" She whimpered feeling it push in further.

Eridan moaned, pushing against her, his skin flush against hers. "Fef..." he whispered, leaning down, giving her gentle kisses on her jaw and neck.

"I love you." She whispered back to him, rubbing his shoulders.

"I lovve you too." he breathed, moaning, feeling his body move in time with hers.

Gently, Feferi raked her nails down his back while moving with her matesprit.

Eridan whimpered, his nails gently digging into Feferi's hips, holding onto her tightly as he grew closer and closer to the edge.

Feferi held her hips up, moaning as heat flooded her body. "Eri!" She cried out when her climax hit.

Eridan moaned, his body pushing into hers as he released, his entire body filling with delicious heat. He showered her with kisses and butterfly light touches.

Happily, she curled up with her matesprit once their bonebulges had retracted. She smiled as she traced random patterns on his stomach.

Eridan smiled, curling up against her. "I lovve you so much Fef."

"I love you too Eri." She smiled, letting her fingers brush his.

Eridan smiled and laced his fingers with hers.

"I think we really needed this. Don't you Eri?" Feferi said softly, laying her head in his chest.

"I think wwe really did." He smiled and wrapped his arms around her gently. "It wwill be nice to get a full night of sleep...wwith Addy not comin in to snuggle wwith us."

"I agree. I love snuggling with him but we needed this." She kissed his chest gently. "This is was amazing."

"Indeed. Let's try and get some extra sleep tonight." He smiled, curling up against her. "Mmm... Thank you Fef."

"Why are you thanking me? Karcrab is the one who gave us this chance." Feferi smiled, curling up in Eridan's arms.

"I'm thanking you because of wwhat you did all those swweeps ago. You accepted me... If it wwasn't for that, I dont know wwhat Iwwould havve done." He smiled.

"You're so silly, Eri." Feferi giggled. "If that's what you're talking about then you need to be thanking Aradia. She helped me understand what I was feeling about you. She's the one who helped me get the courage to tell you that I love you!"

"I wwas just so hopeless for a long time. I'm so thankful that you came to me."

"We're together now and that's all that matters!" Feferi smiled up at him. "I love you Eri."

* * *

><p>Addison nodded slightly. "Yeah." he said, shrugging his shoulders.<p>

Karkat couldn't help but think of how cute it would be in the ended up together. He smiled as he started to pull the wagon.

Carmine smiled softly, holding his hand. She felt happy like this, knowing that there was someone who didn't care that she was a troll or had a lisp.

Addison smiled and held it back, looking out the window.

Soon they arrived at the ice cream shop. Karkat ordered for the kids before ordering for himself. "Thank you." He smiled, getting his change from the man.

"Yay! Eyethe cream!" Carmine giggled, climbing back into the wagon.

Addison smiled and sat back down in the wagon, squirming about for a little bit.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile at school, Sollux grumbled over being absolutely bored out of his mind. He had long finished his programming project, and was sitting there, twiddling his thumbs, looking over at Dirk, who seems to want to do nothing but sleep.<p>

"How much time do we have left, Captor?" Dirk asked, groggily. He hated having to sit through these classes. They were just so easy!

"Who knowth..." Sollux mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "The teacher keepth mumbling thit to himthelf."

"I've almost got the robot finished for tech apps. Want me to come over so we can test it out?" Dirk asked, raising his head a little.

"Thure." Sollux mumbled, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't really care."

"When would be a good time?" He pulled out his phone, scrolling through menus casually.

"I dunno. Tomorrow? My wriggler thtarth thcool tomorrow, tho... I'm pretty much free all day." Sollux ran a hand through his hair

"No can do. My bro is making me do something with him. How about Thursday?" Dirk looked at the troll through his pointed anime shades. "If you don't mind me asking? When did you have a kid?"

"Thurthday workth." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "And the thtory with the kid ith a long one. "

"Tell me about the kid. Don't care about details. Boy or girl?" Dirk asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Girl. Carmine ith her name." He said, smiling. "Adorable."

"Picture?" He asked. "Who's her mom?

"Karkat. My Matethprit." He said. "From another timeline." He dug around on his phone for a picture, finally finding one of her rather recently playing with Addison. "That other kid ith Addy. He'th my friendth wriggler."

"Cute. Karkat, guy or chick?"

"Male." He pulled the phone back, finding a picture of them together. "Here."

"He's hot." Dirk said bluntly. "You lucky bitch."

Sollux snorted. "Yeah, I thuppothe I am." He said, a smirk on his face.

"You don't feel lucky to have him? Hell, I feel lucky just having the guy I'm in love with around." He shrugged. "How long have you two been together?"

"Thweepth. You like thomeone?" He leaned on the table, his chin against his hand.


	61. Chapter 61

**Hey** **guys! Sorry for the late upload! I've been super busy with Christmas/holiday stuff plus my internet is really bad at where I'm staying. I will be back at my home (with my good internet) on the 2nd of January and then I'll be able to update normally. I would do a double upload but we are running short on chapters that are finished and I can't seem to get Addy to want to rp this with me anymore so I may have to finish it myself... Either way there should only be about 70-72 chapters. We have figured out where we want to end this! So that's good news! I hope you guys have a great holiday season and stay safe out there!**

* * *

><p>He blinked. "Oh. I thee." He replied, frowning slightly. "That'th too bad."<p>

"Yeah. He's really sweet and really smart." He looked at Sollux. "He's something else."

"A-Ah.." Fear was starting to fill him. This wasn't good. "I'll be right back." He stood, shoving his phone back in his pocket, heading outside. He quickly dialed Eridan, getting no responce. He sighed, going through his contact list. Surely Terezi would still be awake... He took the chance and dialed her number.

"Hello?" Terezi asked into the phone. "Sollux?"

"TZ, hey... Yeah ith me." He rubbed the back of his head. "Thorry for calling tho late..."

"It's fine. What's up, Mr. Appleberry Blast?" She smiled as she spoke.

"I have a problem." He said softly. "I'm thure... You heard what happened between KK and I..." he mumbled, still not liking the "appleberry blast" nickname from ever so long ago.

"Yes. Karkles asked me for advice a while ago about it." She said softly. "What's wrong?"

"I think thereth thomeone trying to flirt with me." he said, sighing quietly. "I don't know what to do."

"Do they know about Karkles?" Terezi asked. "If they don't, make it clear that you are taken and happy with that. You are happy with that aren't you?"

"They do... And I am happy with him... It'th jutht... Thometimeth I'm worried he hateth me. I feel like I'm not good enough for him."

"Why do you think that?" The blind troll asked. "Why do you think you're not good enough?"

"I... Jutht don't." he said simply, running his hand through his hair.

"Can you do me a favor?" Terezi asked him. "Just one thing."

"What?" Sollux asked, looking off into the distance.

"Just remember that no matter what you have done, Karkles is still with you. He loves you." She smiled. "Whenever you start to think that you aren't good enough. Remember that he could have left but didn't."

"And for that I am thankful." He said softly, rubbing his eyes. "Thankth TZ."

"No problem Sollux!" She smiled. "Have a good night!"

* * *

><p>By this time, Karkat had brought the wrigglers back to the house and was putting them to bed before getting ready to shower. "I wonder why he hasn't text me yet... It's his break time..."<p>

Sollux sighed and got off the phone with Terezi. He called Karkat, leaning against the wall, his eyes closed.

Karkat grabbed his phone from the sink counter. "Hey Honey Bee." He smiled softly.

"Hey. I love you." he said softly, fighting back emotions. "I jutht wanted to call and tell you that."

"I love you too. By the way, Addison is here too. Just thought I would warn you for in the morning when we wake up." Karkat laughed a little. "How was class?"

"Alright." He smiled, leaning his head against the wall. "Ith alright. Boring ath hell."

"Is something wrong, Love?" Karkat asked softly, starting to worry because of Sollux's tone.

"No... I'm jutht... Really tired." he said, trying not to let the emotion show in his voice. He was close to tears. Karkat loved him... And he felt horrible. He didn't want to mess up. He didn't want Karkat to leave him. "I'm fine."

"Ok... I love you Sollux. I miss you so much!" He said softly.

"I love you too, Karkat." he smiled, the tear threshold breaking loose, tears spilling down his cheeks. He quickly wiped at them with his hand. "I'll thee you when I get home." His throat squeezed the last few words, his body shaking. Why... He asked himself.

"I'll see you when you get home, Love. Food is in the oven for you." Karkat informed him. "Love you, later!"

Sollux quietly hung up, letting out a soft sob. Maybe he should go home early? No... He couldn't miss his class... Even if it was stupid. He used the back of his sleeve to wipe away his pale yellow tears.

"Hey. What's wrong? Why the fuck you crying?" Dirk asked, walking over to Sollux.

Sollux let out a choked sounding noise, shaking his head, covering his face. "I'm fine."

"No you're not. Did you fight with Karkat?" He asked.

"No." He said simply, rubbing at his face. He hated being a yellow blood. His sleeves looked like he had peed on them. Yuck.

"Was it something I did?"

"No." He replied back, letting out a shaky sigh. "I thaid I'm fine." His voice was obviously strained. "I'm fine."

"Whatever man." He shook his head as he walked away.

Sollux managed to calm himself down enough to go inside, wash his face off with water, and head back to class. His eyes were a little more yellow around the edges, but maintained their two toned color from behind his tinted glasses.

Dirk sat at his desk, drawing a picture of Jake. He sighed as he drew, thinking about him.

Sollux came back in, sitting down, getting back to work quietly, trying to keep his mind off of everything.

"Your computer is beeping..." Dirk said softly once Sollux sat down.

"Hm?" Sollux looked at the screen.

Karkat had sent him an email with pictures of Carmine and Addison at the ice cream shop. The message with it read. "HEY BABY! I LOVE YOU! AREN'T THESE TWO JUST THE CUTEST FUCKING THING YOU'VE EVER SEEN?"

He smiled. He quickly typed back. "The2e are adorable. Thank you for 2endiing the2e."

Dirk's phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, smiling when he read Jake's name on the screen. "What does he want now?"

Sollux looked over at him. "Who?"

"Oh. It's Jake... He likes to send me random messages throughout the day about things with him and his girl, Jane." Dirk shook his head. "It's usually pictures of him before they meet up or pictures of him shirtless, asking if he looks okay."

"That'th... Weird." He frowned. "Whatth the methage about?"

"It's a picture of him shirtless. He sends one to me about once a week, asking if I think Jane will like his body." He stared at the iPhone. "He's so funny."

"Ah." He smiled a little bit, looking back at his computer screen.

"You want to see? I've got a picture of him with a shirt up now." Dirk asked quietly seeing as class had started.

"Thure I gueth." he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Dirk slid the phone over to him. "He's absolutely adorable, though I would never admit that to him."

Sollux looked down at the phone. There on the phone was displayed a rather attractive, muscular shirtless human. Sollux decided to keep his mouth shut, pushing the phone back over to him. "I thee."

"He's my best friend..." He said softly, pain in his chest.

Suddenly another message came in. "Jane can't hang out tonight. I'm kinda saddened by this." it read.

"I'm sorry English. Want to hang out when I get out of class?" He replied.

"That sounds quite wonderful. Perhaps you can cheer me up Strider. I'm rather down in the dumps." he replied back.

"What's wrong, man?" Dirk sent the message. "I hope he's not fighting with Jane again. Last time that happened, he crashed at my place for a week."

"Jane just won't seem to want to hang out... I don't know if it's something I said, or what..."

"Ith that hith girlfriend?" Sollux asked, glancing over from his computer.

"You know the drill. Send me the last week worth's of messages." Dirk sighed as he hit send. "Yeah. They get into fights a lot. It's really bad sometimes."

Messages began flooding Dirk's inbox, sending his phone into a frenzy. Sollux looked over at it and frowned. "Gueth they talk a lot huh..."

"This is probably about an hours' worth. It's sad." He shook his head.

"KK and I fight every once and a while. It uthually blowth over really quick though." he said, shrugging.

"That's all the messages."

"Their fights are almost predictable..." Dirk said softly. "It happens about once a month."

"That'th not good." he frowned and got back to work.

The messages were over petty things usually, but this one seemed really bad.

"Wow... This one might be serious."

"Oh?" Sollux looked back over.

The argument was basically about how Jake spent way too much time with Dirk and how it shouldn't even be happening.

"It's about me... Again..." Dirk sighed, shaking his head. "Jane should know better by now!"

* * *

><p>Jake forwarded one last message: "If it doesn't stop I may have no choice but to go."<p>

"I'm sorry English. I didn't know it bothered her that much that we hang out." Dirk sent.

"I didn't think it did either... This is just stupid. I'm sorry to be such a bother with this. Cheerio then."

"English. It's fine. You know I could pass this class in my sleep!"

"Still. I do not wish to bother you when you're busy. If it's alright with you, I'd like to crash at your place tonight."

"Fine with me. This time, no stealing my blanket! I gave you one for a reason!"

"I know I know."

Soon the class ended and Sollux headed home.

Dirk shoved all his shit in his backpack and went out to his bike, a Yamaha R in bright orange. He started the engine after climbing onto it. It purred like a well fed kitten under him as he sped off back to his apartment. He parked the bike in the building's garage before making his way upstairs. When he got there, he saw the familiar form of his best friend and longtime crush, Jake English.

Jake stood there, backpack in hand, looking rather shaken. He sighed quietly, leaning against the door frame. "Took you long enough, Strider." he said, sighing softly, running a hand through his hair.

"Sorry man. There was a wreck on the way here." Dirk said as he walked to the door, unlocking it. "Did you bring enough shit for a week?"

"I brought enough for a few days. I can always go back and get more if I need to stay longer." he said, sighing. "I don't want to intrude in your... Personal space."

"You know that you have a place here man. No big deal." He said as he walked inside the apartment. "Pizza should be here in about 20 minutes or so."

"Wonderful. I'm starving." he said, following him inside. It was as messy as he had remembered. He stepped on a few... Unwanted things on their way to whatever destination.

"Set your shit down. I'm going to pick up a little since I know how you are about cleaning." Dirk sighed reaching down and picking up some dirty clothes.

"Thanks." He tossed his stuff on the bed, taking a seat, sighing quietly. "I'm really sorry about all of this... Really."

"It's fine. Not a big deal." Dirk scoffed, waving his hand a little. "We're bros."

"Yeah. Bros." he said, frowning lightly, letting out a soft sigh. "Yeah..." He wasn't much for words. His mind was elsewhere.

"Talk. Say whatever is on your mind." Dirk said as he kept picking stuff up around the room.

"It's just stupid... Bollucks I mean! Seriously! It's like she's jealous of you..." he laid back on Dirk's bed, looking up at the ceiling. "It's rather pointless... For her to think all this. I told her we're best bros and she won't listen to me in the slightest!"

Dirk felt like it was his fault. Roxy had told Jane about his feelings for Jake and that's when their problems had taken a turn for the worse. "Best bros." He said softly, holding his fist out for a fist bump.

The notion was returned, albiet weak in its attempts. He sighed quietly. "It's just so STUPID." he let his arm fall back to the bed with a thud.

"Get some rest. I bet you've been up since before dawn." He said. "I'm going to finish picking up. Your blanket is in the closet."

"We may be bros, but I'm not taking your bed. You can have it. I don't mind sleeping on the couch." He got up, going to the closet, picking up his blanket and slinging it over a shoulder.

"You always take my bed though. It's fine."

"I don't mind the couch. Trust me." He let out a sigh and walked out of the room, plopping down on the couch in the living room, moving some things aside before laying down, covering himself with the blanket.

"That's what you said last time and you still ended up in my bed..." He shook his head. "Besides, I can't pick up in here if you're passed out."

"I don't mind sleeping out here tonight, Strider." he said, taking his glasses off, setting them on the table.

"Okay." He kept picking up garbage and stuff off the floor trying to be quiet. 'It's all my fault... Jane thinks I'm trying to steal him...'

Before long, Jake was fast asleep, his breathing soft and peaceful, his mouth parted just slightly.

Dirk deposited the trash in the can before heading back to the living room. He knew that Jake was a deep sleeper and therefore wouldn't be woken up by what had become his ritual. It was what got him by. Softly, he smiled as he leaned down, kissing Jake gently on the lips before whispering good night in his ear. Dirk made his way back to his room, stripping himself of his jeans, t-shirt and shades before crawling under the plush orange blanket and going to sleep.

Jake was up before dawn again, sitting upright, staring off into space for a while before getting up and going into the kitchen. He cleaned up what he could while Dirk slept soundly. He sighed softly once it was all clean. Dirk of course had limited food in the apartment, and he knew that couldn't be helped. There was pizza still from last night, but even that wasn't appatizing. He walked back into Dirk's bedroom. He stood in the door, watching him. He looked so peaceful. It was silly. He looked in on him a soft smile on his face. It was so obvious to him. Dirk had feelings for him... Why else would the seemingly cool Strider have any other interest in Jake English, the wild child? He calmly walked over to the bed, brushing a stray hair out of his face. He leaned down, placing a soft, chaste kiss on his lips before exiting. He grabbed Dirk's keys, running to the store to get some real food.

Dirk woke up an hour later. Keeping his eyes closed, he sat up and grabbed his shades, putting them back on. He yawned and stretched before getting off the bed and going into the living room. He noticed that Jake wasn't on the couch or in the kitchen meaning that the adventurer had gone out to get real food. "Thanks English." He yawned quietly as he sat at the table. Dirk knew that Jake would be back soon and need his help to carry the groceries in. He looked over at his key rack. "Of course. He takes the mustang..."

Jake returned moments later, pulling into the parking lot. He turned the car off, grabbing as many bags of groceries that he could, leaving several in the car for Dirk to get. He walked up to the apartment, opening the door.

"Trunk or back seat?" Dirk asked, getting up from the table before walking toward the door.

"Backseat." He said simply, setting the groceries down on the table, working on getting them put away.

Dirk nodded, making his way out the door and downstairs to the apartment buildings garage. He located the mustang with ease and grabbed the groceries from the backseat. He carried them back up quickly and set them on the ground. "You always buy so much food. Are you planning on moving in or something?"

"No. This is how many groceries you need for eating for two." he said, sighing quietly. "Especially for a bloody week. I eat more than you do."

"True." He sighed, sitting at the table again. "Can we have burgers tonight?"

"That's fine by me." he said, shrugging. "I don't care what we eat, when we eat it, as long as we do eat it." he smiled a little bit, putting the last of the groceries away.

"What are you thinking about doing with the whole Jane situation?" He asked. "It would suck for 3 years to come to an end for something like us hanging out."

"I don't know what I'm going to do about it... I... Don't even know if I'm worth her time anymore. If she's going to get all bent out of shape over this... Then maybe it should end... And I can move on."

"That really sucks." Dirk sighed. "I hope things work out for ya, bro."

Jake nodded his head. It was true. He didn't love her anymore... Not like he had used to. "Maybe it's time for me to just stop the fights all together."


	62. Chapter 62

"You're going to break up with her?" He asked, looking at his friend. "It'd be better to do it in person instead of online..."

"I... I kind of feel bad, but I might have to." he sighed. "It's a tough thing to figure out... But..." He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes shutting. "I might just have to do it."

"Well, my couch and bed are at your disposal. Just if you take my bed, leave room for me." He laughed.

"Alright." he said. He smiled over at Dirk, winking at him. "You really are the best bro."

"I know." Dirk smiled at Jake. "How about I start on those hamburgers?"

"Works for me." He sighed softly, leaning back in his chair.

Dirk got up and grabbed everything he would need for the burgers. They would be simple, nothing more than a little salt and pepper to season the beef with some sliced vegetables, sauces of choice and buns. He worked quickly with nimble fingers that were used to building robots instead of assembling food.

Jake watched him carefully, watching him use his hands to prepare the food. Jake himself was good with his hands. He was an expert marksman and hunter.

Soon enough, the hamburgers were cooking away in a pan while he started to slice tomatoes. "You want anything else on your burger, English?"

"Whatever you've got will be fine for me." He said, standing. "I'll fix drinks. What do you want?"

"Jack and coke." He said softly. "I feel like drinking a little tonight."

"Really?" Hmmmm... Jake thought, getting out the jack daniels and the coke to start mixing the drink.

"Just a little. Haven't drank lately because of school but since it's the weekend, I figured I could have a little." Dirk smiled softly, flipping the burgers.

"Sounds good to me." He mixed it half and half, a little more coke than jack, giving it a gentle stir and sliding it across the counter.

Dirk caught it with his right hand, taking a sip before setting it down on the counter and concentrating on the burgers in front of him. "We haven't drank together in a long time. I'm not saying you have to but it's been a while."

"I might have a little something." He smiled and fixed himself something small, taking a sip of it.

"Do what you wish. What's mine is yours." Dirk said softly, taking the hamburgers off the skillet. "Food's done."

"Alright." He grabbed the drinks and set them on the table, taking a seat.

"The usual?" Dirk asked, looking over at Jake. "Tomato, onions and ketchup?"

"Yup." he said, smiling.

He nodded, fixing it up with the toppings that Jake wanted before setting the plate in front of him. "Don't panic. There is more."

"I'm not worried about it." he laughed a little, taking a big bite of the burger in front of him.

"I know how much you eat, English." Dirk laughed a little, sitting at the table with his own burger. He felt relaxed around Jake enough to show him some emotions. He still had a hard time taking off his shades around anyone, unless he was going to sleep.

He smiled. "And you know how to treat a man to dinner Strider. You may be a messy man around the house, but you sure know how to cook."

"Wow. I think that's the sweetest thing you have ever said to me, English. Be careful, I may swoon." He laughed.

Jake couldn't help but laugh a bit. He sipped his drink, feeling it loosen him a bit.

"This is going to be a fun night. Video games after food?"

"Sounds good to me." he smiled and finished eating.

Dirk went over to the couch with drink in hand, picking up his controller and turning the TV on. "What do you want to play?"

"Doesn't matter. You know I'll kick your ass if we play a game with fighting or guns in it."

"Fuck you English."

"Hahahaha." He sipped his drink, slinging an arm over Dirk's shoulder.

"No Halo. Let's play Mario Cart." Dirk smirked at him.

"Works for me." He grinned and shifted back, setting his drink down. "Bring it, Strider."

Dirk loaded the game, pressing start when it asked. He took a swig of his drink before choosing his character. He always played Daisy. For the irony, of course.

Jake picked yoshi for just as much irony, joking quietly about how Dirk picked daisy.

"Oh shut up and drink English. Speaking of that. Want to play a drinking game too?" He asked.

"Sure. That sounds like a bucket of fun." He grinned and grabbed his glass. "Name the game Strider."

"10 rounds of Mario cart, you take a shot as many times as you lose."

"Alright. What are we taking a shot of?" he grinned.

"Jack or Rum?"

"Rum." He smiled. "Sounds better to me. "

"Be right back." Dirk said as he got up and went back into the kitchen, grabbing two shot glasses and a bottle of rum. He returned to the living room, placing them on the coffee table.

Jake grinned and leaned back on the couch, propping his legs on the table.

"Let the games begin."

They started and the first game was lost, Dirk being claimed the winner. Jake smirked, quirking an eyebrow as he took a shot of rum.

Dirk smiled triumphantly as Jake took his shot. "Next round." A few rounds later, Jake was giggling like a psychopath and Dirk was red in the face. "We have a few more rounds to go. Are you going to be okay, English?"

"Yeah." He smirked. "I'll be fine." he said, mashing the button on the controller. "Next next come on."

"Don't break it!" Dirk smacked at his hand. "Hey, want to double the stakes? Two shots for loser?"

"Oh god. I might be sick in the morning if this keeps up, hahahaha I feel like Rox."

"She's immune to it now. You should have heard her when she came over last week. It was hysterical!" He laughed. "All you have to do to keep from getting sick is to beat me."

"Alright alright." He snorted, "Works for me."

"Chose the next world to race in, English." Dirk said. "I'll try not to crush you into oblivion."

"How about fucking Rainbow road?" He grinned wide. "This world is impossible." He grinned. "Let's do this."

"Cool with me." He said softly, choosing the world and waiting for it to start.

The game started. Jake swerved all over the place, falling off the road several times before starting again. "Dammit!" he muttered, racing to the finish line, somehow before Dirk. "HAH!"

Dirk shook his head, glad that Jake hadn't seen him running off the road so he could beat him. He reached over and grabbed his shot glass pouring a shot. "I'm using your glass too." He said as he poured some rum into Jake's as well. He sighed before taking both shots in succession. "Why the fuck did I let you choose the liquor? I hate rum."

He laughed. "Because I felt like it." His voice was slurred and he leaned against Dirk, resting his head against his shoulder. "Mmmmhhh I'm so drunk."

"Is that Jake English giving up?"

"Why would I give up." He said, sitting back up. "Mmm~ how many more games do we have?"

"This is the last one." Actually there were 3 left but Dirk didn't want Jake to pass out.

"Ah alright. So... Who... Uh..." he scratched the back of his head. "Who won? What's the prize anyway."

"I guess I won since I'm not plastered like a certain person." He smiled at Jake. "I didn't think of a prize."

Jake grinned, looking over at him. "Mmmm can I name the prize?" he asked, laughing a little bit.

"I guess. What shall be my prize, Mr. English?" Dirk looked at him, knowing that there was really nothing that Jake could give him as a prize since they were in his apartment.

Jake leaned forward, his hand gently lifting Dirk's chin as he leaned close, his lips brushing against his. His eyes fluttered closed, placing a soft chaste kiss on his lips.

Dirk was in a state of shock. Jake was drunk enough to kiss him? Holy shit! He closed his eyes, pulling off his shades as he kissed him back.

Jake shifted closer to him, his hands moving down to Dirk's shoulders, gently holding them as he kissed him back, pulling back just slightly, his breath hot against Dirk's cheek, reeking of alcohol. "Sorry..." he muttered.

Dirk kept his eyes closed, not wanting Jake to see the bright orange. "It's fine. You... Don't... Never mind..." Dirk shook his head a little as he replaced his glasses. 'Fucking hell Strider. Jake is still with Jane and he's not yours. The only reason he kissed you is because he's fucking wasted.'

"Strider, I should probably admit something to you." he said quietly, his eyes still shut tight.

"And what's that?" He asked, his voice soft.

"Roxy told me everything." He said, rubbing his arms. "About you." he said.

Dirk's eyes shot open. She did what? He was going to have a few words with Roxy Lalonde the next time he got on his computer. "Oh... " He said, keeping his emotions inside again.

"It's... Really okay." He said softly. "I... I mean, Jane knows too... And I think that's why she's so mad." he frowned. "I've been thinking about it for a while and I... You know..." he frowned, reaching for Dirk's hand.

"I knew that Jane knew. She texts me a lot whenever she knows you're here." He said softly, his voice static as he spoke. He felt the pressure and warmth of Jake's hand on his and he wanted to cry. He knew what came next, rejection and the loss of a friend.

"I'm really okay with knowing this." he smiled, looking at him. His face was flushed red from the alcohol. "I've been thinking about it for a long time and I really think that you are a really cool guy, Dirk Strider."

Mass confusion. 'What does that mean? Is he saying he's okay with my feelings for him? Isn't that literally what he just said?' A million questions were running through Dirk's mind as he stared at his best friend. "Jake... I'm confused..."

"Mmm Strider, take off your shades, I want to see your eyes." He leaned forward, touching Dirk's face. "Please?"

He didn't know what it was that made him want to take off his shades but he did. As soon as they were gone, he felt vulnerable though his eyes were still closed.

Jake touched his face, running his thumbs under Dirk's eyes. "You can show me. You always hide behind those shades of yours... Come on." he smiled, leaning close to him, his breath hot against his cheek.

Dirk kept his eyes closed for a moment longer. 'Only because it's Jake and it's what he wants... And you're the idiot who wants to give him what he wants.' He thought as he slowly opened his eyes, revealing the bright orange. "Fuck its bright..."

"I've never seen your eyes before, Dirk. I must say they're quite beautiful." he smiled, leaning close, gently placing a soft kiss on his lips again, his hand brushing back into Dirk's hair. He pulled back just inches away from Dirk's face. "I like orange."

Dirk didn't know how to respond. Jake was the second person to ever see his eyes, the first being his brother, Dave. "Oh..." Was his brilliant response.

"Strider, I suppose my words are shocking to you." He sat back. "I understand." he got up, wobbling a bit. "Oh dear..." he flopped back down on the couch. "I think I'm too drunk to walk."

Without thinking, Dirk stood and held out his hands for Jake. Finally, some normalcy for this drinking adventure. "They did shock me. You're the second person who has ever seen my eyes. I always thought they would scare someone... Like bro's did..."

"They're not scary in the slightest." He stood again, falling against Dirk, his arms around him.

"Where were you trying to go?"

"I figured I could go lay down. I'm too drunk to do anything else." he smiled, putting his face in the crook of Dirk's neck, breathing against it gently.

A shiver went up Dirk's spine but he kept his muscles rigid. "I'll take you back to my room and then I'll clean up." He said softly, guiding Jake back to his room. He made sure that Jake was comfortable before he went to get off of the bed.

"Dirk..." he whispered, his eyes drooping. "You'll come back right?"

"If that's what you want..." He said softly, getting off the bed and going to do the dishes.

Jake smiled, curling up in the bed, hugging Dirk's pillow close to him, breathing quietly.

He worked quickly but thoroughly before moving to get the dishes from the living room. As he worked, his mind raged with thousands of thoughts. What had happened earlier was not anything he could or would have seen coming when he had suggested the drinking game.

Jake shifted, falling asleep quickly, his mind settling on happy thoughts.

Dirk sighed as he picked up his shades form the couch. "No point in putting them back on now..." He walked back to his bedroom, seeing Jake passed out on his bed. He smiled softly and shook his head as he walked over, setting his shades on the bed side table. After he had changed into his sleep wear, a pair of boxers, he crawled into bed and performed his ritual. "Good night Jake." he whispered.

The next morning Jake stirred, his head pounding. He clutched it, groaning in pain, moving closer to the warmth near him.

Dirk shifted a little so that whatever was against him could have more access. He was conscious enough to know that it was Jake lying next to him. "Aspirin is in the drawer."

Jake groaned. He shifted closer to Dirk, wrapping his arms around him. "Strider where is your shirt..." he mumbled against his chest.

"I've never slept with a shirt on, English." He said groggily.

He shifted, his legs gently brushing against Dirk's stretching out. "Everything hurts. How much did I drink?"

"About 8 shots of rum plus whatever you mixed in your drink at dinner."

"Damn it." He muttered, holding his head. "That's a stupid amount of alcohol... Why didn't you stop me..."

"I tried to let you win after you had 3 shots but you kept fucking that up!" He said softly. "You also made me take off my shades."

"I did?" He looked up, rubbing his eyes lightly. He looked up at Dirk. He wondered if he still had them off.

Dirk smiled softly at him, his shades still off. "You said you liked the color of them..."

"I do." He said quietly. "Orange is a good color on you." he said softly.

'You also kissed me...' Dirk thought about saying but he didn't want to make it seem like he wanted Jake to keep kissing him even though he did. This was going to be difficult...

Jake shifted, wanting to look at him face to face. "I'd say that this is a little intimate... I remember doing something else too." he said quietly, his hands moving away from his head a little bit.

"Oh really?" He asked, being playful and flirty.

"Yes." He said, touching Dirk's cheek. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea." He gently ran a finger across Dirk's lip.

"Wrong idea? What are you talking about, English?"

"I feel like I'm barking mad." He said softly. He leaned in, pressing a kiss to Dirk's lips, letting it linger, his hand wrapping around him, messing with his hair. 'I'm so sorry... Dirk I'm so sorry...'

Dirk kissed him back. 'This kid is going to be the death of me.'

Jake pulled back after a moment, his heart racing. "Dirk... I must admit that I have feelings for you..."

"What about Jane?" He asked, his face flushed as his thumb brushed against Jake's jaw. "She knows about yours too... Doesn't she..."

He nodded slowly, looking back at him. "She knows... That's what we got into the fight about... She didn't want to tell me that though..." he sighed and shifted a bit, his legs brushing against Dirk's.

"I'm sorry Jake..." He whispered, kissing his forehead. "I didn't mean to make you two fight... I was okay with just having you close to me but... I don't think that's going to work very well anymore..."

"Dirk... What are you saying?" He looked up at him. "Jane and I have... Have agreed to split... A-and it's mutual..." He felt a pain in his chest. 'Dirk no...'

"I love you..." He whispered before kissing Jake again. "I love you so much Jake..." He kissed him again. "I wish..." Dirk closed his eyes for a moment. "I want you to be mine."

"Dirk..." Jake breathed, reaching out to hold him close. "Dirk I was so scared... That you didn't want me around anymore..." he kissed Dirk again, his mouth parting slightly.

Dirk eagerly kissed him back, letting his fingers tangle in the deep brown hair. After a moment, he pulled back. "Jake... I love you." He said breathlessly before giving him butterfly kisses. "Say you'll be mine..."

"I'll be yours." he said quietly, "I'll be yours Dirk." He said, moving to kiss him again.

Smiling, he kissed Jake back as he slipped his hands down and around Jake's back. He rubbed it gently, feeling the subtle muscles underneath the shirt. He pulled back, a bright smile on his face. "Jake."

"It's been a long time since I've seen a true smile come from you." He said softly, shifting closer to him.

"Well, I just became the happiest guy in the world! I think I should smile because of that." He laughed softly, kissing Jake's cheek.

"I'm glad. I love you." He smiled, nuzzling against him.

"I love you too." He whispered.

The pair laid together until they felt warm and sleepy. The pair curled up, falling back asleep quickly.


	63. Chapter 63

Gamzee smiled as he curled up with Tavros and Karkat. All the packing for his trip had been done the day before and today he just wanted to relax. "Hey little girl!" He smiled when Carmine came over and curled up with Karkat.

"If only Sollux would stop being a dick and come cuddle with us." Karkat laughed, snuggling into Gamzee's side.

"Daddy! Come here!" Carmine cried.

Sollux had been working on something for school. He grumbled and got up. "Alright alright." He mumbled, shuffling into the other room.

"Yay!" Carmine and Karkat smiled in unison. Karkat held his arms open for Sollux to crawl into. "My Honey Bee!"

Sollux walked over, curling up in Karkat's arms. "Nnnn... I'm tired of thcool." He said, shaking his head.

Tavros yawned, stretching his arms out.

"I know." Karkat said softly, kissing the top of Sollux's head.

"You can do it Daddy!" Carmine giggled.

"You okay, Tav?" Gamzee asked. "We've been here for a few hours... Just let me know when you want to go home."

"I'm getting kind of uh... Tired." Tavros said quietly, looking at Gamzee with big eyes.

"I know I can do it. Ith jutht really thtupid." Sollux said, rubbing his eyes.

"Do you want to go home?" Gamzee asked, shifting a little. Karkat shifted as Gamzee did.

"At least you know you'll pass all your classes." He smiled softly at Sollux. "Worse part about cooking school..."

"But Mommy ith an amathing cook! Right Daddy!"

"Yeth. Mommy ith an amathing cook." He smiled, leaning back and kissing Karkat's cheek gently.

"I think maybe." Tavros said quietly, shifting against Gamzee.

"Hey Karbro. We're gonna go. Tav is tired." Gamzee said softly. Karkat nodded.

"I'm glad I got to see you before you left. Give me a hug!"

Gamzee leaned over and gave Karkat a big hug. "I'll see ya later bro."

"Bye Uncle Gam! Bye Uncle Tav!" Carmine smiled at them. "Can I have a hug too?"

Tavros smiled, opening his arms. "Yeah! Come here Carmine!" He smiled.

Sollux shifted. "Thee you guyth. Be careful out there Gamthee."

Carmine crawled into Tavros' arms. "Next time you come over, can you read Pupa Pan to me again?"

"I will." Gamzee smiled at him. "Got to stay safe for Tav and Karbro!"

Tavros smiled. "Of course!" He grinned and held her close. "You can come over any time you know." He smiled, kissing the top of her head.

Sollux shifted, curling up with Karkat.

"Really?" Carmine asked, her eyes wide. "That would be awethome! We can go thwimming!" "Carmine, you don't know how to swim..." Karkat laughed, playing with Sollux's hair. "Are you going to class tonight Sollux?"

"Pft. No. I can thtand to mith one night of clatheth." He sighed softly, rubbing his eyes.

"Aaah, I can try." He smiled. "It's hard for me to swim you know."

"Addy thaid he would teach me!" Carmine said softly. "It'll be fun Uncle Tav!"

"Sollux... What are we going to do with this child?" He laughed softly.

"Carmine, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to steal Tav from you." Gamzee smiled at her.

Tavros smiled up at Gamzee. "We will plan something out."

Sollux smiled. "I have no idea." he said, stretching his arms out.

Gamzee helped Tavros up. "See ya guys! Thanks for having us over."

"Bye guys! Come back soon!" Karkat waved from their pile on the floor. "That was nice." He smiled.

Sollux smiled. "Yeah. Tav ith going to be lonely for a while."

Tavros smiled, being helped out to the van. "Thank you Gamzee."

"Well, I already told him to call us if it gets too bad." He said, laying back down.

"No problem Tav." He smiled, kissing Tavros' cheek gently. "I'm glad you had fun."

"I did!" He giggled, leaning into Gamzee's touches and kisses.

"Ah I thee." Sollux nodded.

"Let's go home and cuddle." Gamzee smiled at him, picking him up and gently setting him in the seat. "I want some alone time with my matesprit."

"Especially since you have to leave tomorrow.." He frowned, leaning over and kissing him gently.

"Yeah." He sighed. "I'll try to call you every day that I'm on the island."

"I hope to hear from you." He smiled. "I'm sure I will."

Gamzee closed Tavros' door and went over to the driver side of the van. "Let's go home."

"Yes. Let's." He said, smiling. He had something in mind for the two of them.

A couple hours later and they were pulling up to the mansion. "Ah. I can't wait to get my cuddle on with my Tav."

"Me too." He smiled, rubbing his eyes. He was tired, but he wasn't going to let this get to him.

Gamzee got out and ran to the other side of the bus. He opened the door and held his hands out for Tavros. "Come to me!"

Tavros scooted across the seat the best he could. "This is a little harder than I thought." he admitted

Gently, he reached in and scooped Tavros up in his arms. "It's okay. I got you now!"

Tavros smiled brightly and snuggled against him. "Mmm~~"

"I love you Tav." Gamzee whispered in his ear.

"I love you too. Let's go upstairs." He said softly, kissing Gamzee.

He nodded and started to climb the stairs. Any Subjugglator that tried to get Gamzee's attention was blown off for it was his last night with Tavros for a whole two weeks.

Tavros smiled and kissed Gamzee again, happy to be in their room.

Gamzee sat him down on the bed. "Let's cuddle." He smiled, laying down beside him.

Tavros got comfortable, lying next to Gamzee. Now was his chance. He whimpered, looking over at him. "Gamzee." he said softly, grabbing the front of his shirt, kissing him.

Gamzee kissed him back, wrapping his arms around Tavros' waist. He pulled back after a moment. "I love you Tav."

"I love you too. I want to spend tonight... Doing... Uh..." he blushed dark. "I want to have an intimate night with you."

"Tav, do you really want that?" He asked softly, looking at him with deep purple eyes.

"Yes. I do." He said, his voice soft, his eyes wide. "I want you to take me. I want you to love me."

"I do love you." Gamzee said softly. "I love you so much." He pulled Tavros closer to him. "I want you to be happy."

"I am happy. Gamzee, I'm so happy. I love you so much." he smiled. "More than anything."

Gamzee shifted so he was looking down at Tavros. "Tell me what I can do to make you happy, right now..."

Tavros shivered. Here it went. He swallowed hard. "Make... M-Make love to me." he said, his face flushing deep brown.

Gamzee couldn't speak. Tavros actually said it... "Tavros." He whispered, leaning down and kissing him gently. He pulled back. "I love you."

Tavros couldn't help but shake. He whimpered and leaned up to kiss him again, pulling him close. "I love you too." he whispered.

Gamzee was even more careful with his movements as he hands ran up and down along Tavros' sides while they kissed. He wanted this to be the most amazing time ever.

Tavros made soft gasping noises, lifting his body, reacting to the touches and kisses.

Softly, he shifted his kisses away from Tavros' lips and toward his neck. Occasionally, he would linger on a particular spot. He slipped his fingers under the hem of Tavros' shirt, waiting for approval.

Tavros nodded, raising his arms above his head.

Gamzee worked the shirt off of the other. He smiled softly at his matesprit as he gently kissed right over his heart.

Tavros shuddered, wrapping arms around Gamzee gently. "Mmm... I love you."

"I love you too Tavros." He smiled up at him. He crawled a little further up Tavros' body, asking silently for Tavros to help him disrobe as well.

He wrapped his arms around him, pulling at his shirt. He pulled it up over his head, trying to get it off the best he could.

Gamzee helped with getting his shirt off. He leaned down as the shirt went over his head and past his horns and kissed Tavros' chest again.

Tavros let out a soft noise, grinning as he ran his fingers down Gamzee's sides.

Softly, oh so softly, he kissed down Tavros' chest and stomach before kissing each of his hips. Looking up at Tavros, he worked on taking his belt off and then unbuttoning his pants. Gamzee could feel the heat pooling in his stomach as his pants began to fit a little too snuggly but that didn't stop him from being slow and careful with Tavros.

Tavros lifted his hips gently, feeling the pants slide off around his hips. He looked up at Gamzee, his eyes half lidded with lust.

Gamzee softly kissed each hip again as his fingers caressed the skin of his thighs. He pulled away, shifting so he was sitting up with one hand under Tavros' hips. Gently, he lifted the other's hips and slipped his boxers off as well. "Tavros..." He whispered, kissing his thigh close to where the metal legs would attach.

Tavros shivered. "g-Gamzee... T-That tickles." He smiled a little bit, shifting his hips, looking at Gamzee. He could feel his bulge starting to poke out.

"Sorry..." He smiled at him. "Have I ever told you how amazing you are, Tavros?"

"A-A lot." He smiled, fumbling with the sheets gently.

"Just that you, Tavros Nitram, realize how amazing you are and how grateful I am to have you." He said softly, hoping that Tavros would realize that he had been calling him by his name instead of Tav.

"W-Wh..." he looked at him. "g-Gamzee you must be really serious saying my full name and stuff..." He blinked at him, his eyes wide.

"Of course I'm serious." He smiled at Tavros. "I love you so much and you mean everything to me." Gamzee leaned down, kissing above his heart again. "It makes me so happy to call you mine."

"I'm happy to call you mine too." He said, grinning. "I'm going to miss you while you're gone.." He purred quietly, looking down at him.

"I'm going to miss you too." He whispered against the skin as his hand slipped down, gently rubbing Tavros' sheath.

Tavros cried out, his eyes closing. "G-Gamzee..." he whispered, his voice soft and shaky. His bulge slowly peeked out, wrapping around his finger.

Gamzee ghosted kisses along Tavros' neck as he palmed the growing bonebulge. He wanted to feel Tavros shiver against him, to melt into his touch. He wanted this to be the most amazing feeling that Tavros had ever had in his life.

Tavros whimpered, craning his neck, his bulge extending, wrapping around Gamzee's hand. He whimpered with every touch, every kiss. "A-Aaahh..."

Gamzee slipped his hand a little lower so that the tip of his finger could push into Tavros' nook. He shifted his hand forward so that the tip of his finger went in and then back so the heel of his palm rubbed against his bonebulge.

Tavros gasped out. "O-oh my..." He bit down on his lip, his eyes closed tight at the feeling. He had missed this.

The purple troll started to move his hand a little faster. He kissed Tavros gently on the lips as he moved his hand the tiniest bit faster before slowing.

Tavros whimpered, his hands shaking slightly as he reached up, wrapping his arms around Gamzee. "Nnn... G-Gamzee you... You are really amazing."

Gamzee smiled softly, kissing him again. "Thank you Tav."

Tavros kissed him back gently, his hand fumbling for Gamzee's stomach.

Gamzee's hand sped up a little when Tavros grabbed his pants. "Tavros." He whispered, slipping his finger in deeper.

Tavros let out a mewling noise, throwing his head back against the pillow. "A-Aaaahhh..."

Slowly, he stopped the rocking movement of his hand to focus solely on Tavros' nook, sliding his finger in to the last knuckle. He felt Tavros tighten around his finger a little before moving it gently and being careful with his nails.

Tavros quivered, making soft grunts and whimpers as Gamzee moved his hand. He held his hand up to his mouth, covering it to stifle any loud noises.

"Don't cover your mouth. I like the sounds..." He whispered.

Tavros whimpered into his hand, looking at him. "B-But..."

"Please Tavros?" Gamzee asked softly, adding a second finger.

Tavros whimpered, his voice getting louder. "A-Aaaaahh!" He gripped the sheets.

Gamzee fingered him faster, knowing that it would make Tavros' vocalizations louder.

Tavros cried out, hearing himself get too loud, covering his mouth with his hand. "Nnnngh!"

"Do you want you want me to stop teasing now?" He asked quietly, licking up the side of his ear.

Tavros whimpered, nodding quickly, his eyes shut tight. "N-Nnnn..."

"Help with my pants?"

Tavros nodded, his hands quickly fumbling with the belt and the buttons.

Gamzee slowed his pace so Tavros can think a little clearer. He shivered as Tavros pushed his pants and boxers down, revealing his fully exposed bulge. After a little shifting, Gamzee was in between his lover's legs, pulling his fingers out. Slowly, he pushed in, moaning as he did so.

Tavros gasped, shifting his hips to accommodate for Gamzee's bulge. He whimpered, feeling it slide in, filling him completely. He wrapped his bulge around what was left of it, moaning into his hand.

"Tavros." He moaned softly as he began to thrust, deep and slow.

Tavros wrapped his arms tightly around Gamzee, holding onto him tightly. "Gamzee... Nnnn..."

Gamzee kept this pace up for another moment or so before snapping his hips forward. "Ah fuck!"

Tavros cried out, feeling Gamzee's bulge coil up inside him. It felt better than he had ever imagined. He cried out, raking his nails down Gamzee's back.

Gamzee started to repeat that motion, moaning every time. He slipped his arm under Tavros' hips again, giving him a new angle. He brought his hips forward quickly, trying to find his sweet spot.

Tavros screamed out, biting down on his hand, thrusting his hips up.

He switched from fast and shallow thrusts to slow and hard. "Ah! Tavros!" He moaned, feeling him tighten around him.

Tavros cried out, his body tightening, his bulge brushing the edge of Gamzee's nook before slipping just the tip inside. He cried out, holding onto Gamzee tightly.

"Holy fuck!" He gasped feeling Tavros' bulge slip inside that little bit. He kept thrusting with that slow pace, getting dangerously close to release.

Tavros whimpered, feeling his body tighten hard. He quivered with anticipation, holding onto him tighter as he cried out, his body tightening with impending release.

It only took a couple more thrusts to send Gamzee over the edge, crying out his lover's name as he did so.

Tavros cried out, his body being filled with Gamzee's release as he too released against Gamzee's body.

"I love you so much Tavros." He whispered as his bonebulge retracted.

Tavros purred quietly, curling up with him. "I love you too." he said. "So much Gamzee."

"I don't want to leave tomorrow." He whispered, kissing him gently. "Do you want me to wake you before I leave tomorrow?"

"Yes." Tavros said, rubbing his eyes.

"Then we should probably go to sleep." Gamzee said softly, wrapping himself around Tavros.

Tavros nodded. "That sounds like a good idea..." he whispered, rubbing his eyes.

Gamzee fell asleep quickly after a few moments.

Tavros followed suit, snuggling against Gamzee's warmth.

Kairin came in a few hours later to wake him up. "Gamzee, wake up."

Gamzee nodded, shifting a little. "Tav. We have to wake up now."

Tavros whimpered. "Nnn but..." he whispered, stretching out.

"I know but we have to get up now." He kissed his cheek gently. "Kairin, how long before I have to get on the plane?"

"About 2 hours."

"Ok. Tav, sleep for another hour. I have a little bit of packing that I have to do."

Tavros nodded. "Okay..." He whispered, rubbing his eyes. He fell back asleep quickly.

Smiling softly, Gamzee kissed Tavros' forehead before getting up and eating a little something. He went back to their room and finished his little bit of packing.

Tavros shifted, mumbling quietly in his sleep, having a pleasant dream of fairies and sprites.

Gamzee looked over at him, the hour almost up. He walked over to the bed, wrapping his arms around Tavros for the last 15 minutes of his extra hour.

"Nnn..." He groaned quietly.

"Morning Tavros." He smiled softly.

Tavros shifted, looking over at him. "Morning." he said, his voice quiet.

"We have about a half hour before Kairin is going to come get me for boarding..."

"Nnn...Gamzee I don't want you to go..." he whispered, rubbing his eyes, feeling saddened.

"I know, love. I don't want to go either but I'm their king... I have to go." He said softly, pulling Tavros closer. "I'm leaving my favorite things here for you... Like my hoodie and shirt..."

"O-Okay..." he whispered, rubbing his eyes. "I'll wear it every day." he said, sniffling.

"You don't have to do that. I just thought it might help you sleep." Gamzee chuckled a little. "You're so adorable Tav."

"I'm really going to miss you." he said, wrapping his arms around him. "I... I just want to spend time like this."

"I'm completely okay with that." he smiled, kissing the top of his matesprit's head. "I love you Tav."

"I love you too." he said, frowning at him. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"For what?" He asked, his eyes filling with worry. "Why would you be sorry, Tav?"

"For not being able to come with you... And being so upset by you going... I don't like being alone." He said, touching his chest.

"I know. I wish you could come too but I'm not risking your life just to have you with me for the holiday." He said softly. "I know you don't like being alone but this gives you more of a chance to get out of the mansion..."

"Yeah... I'm hoping I can go some places." he smiled, leaning up to kiss Gamzee again.

Gamzee kissed him again, wrapping his arms around Tavros and pulling him close. He pulled back after a moment, a smirk on his face. "Was last night to your satisfaction?"

"Y-Yes." he breathed quietly, his cheeks flushing dark.

"I'm glad." He smiled. "I wanted it to be amazing. More amazing than normal."

Tavros smiled. "It was amazing. You are amazing." he smiled, "Always."

"I'm glad you think I'm amazing." Gamzee smiled brightly.

"Gamzee, it is time to start boarding." Kairin said from the thick wooden door.

"Ok... Come with me to the plane?" He asked softly.

Tavros nodded. "Find me a pair of shorts and I will." he said, sitting up, rubbing his eyes.

Gamzee nodded before getting up. "Kairin, leave." He said as he walked over to the drawers. Kairin left the room quickly. After a moment of searching, Gamzee found a pair of Tavros' shorts and took them over to the bed. "Here Tav."

Tavros struggled a bit, pulling them on. He looked around for his wheelchair, pulling a blanket over his shoulders.

Gamzee got up, bringing the wheelchair over to the bed. "Want me to help you get in?"

"I've got it." he said, pulling himself into it carefully. "I'm ready."

Gamzee nodded, pushing Tavros outside to where the private plane was located. "I love you." He whispered into his ear. "I want that to be what you remember..."

"I know. I love you too." he said quietly, his voice soft, leaning up to him, kissing him gently.

Gamzee kissed him back, trying to keep it sweet and chaste.

Tavros frowned and shifted a bit, frowning as he kissed him back. The moments were ticking by slowly, and he frowned. He wanted nothing more than for this to truly last forever.

Gamzee didn't want to but after a moment he pulled back. "I love you so much Tav. I'll be home as soon as I can. Okay?" He whispered, keeping his hands on Tavros' shoulders. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." He frowned, feeling tears well up in his eyes. He wiped them away with the blanket quickly, whimpering. He didn't want to cry. He had to be strong.

Gamzee kissed all over his face, wanting that to be the last thing he felt before he had to leave for two weeks. "I'll call you as soon as we land, okay?"

"O-Okay." he said softly, rubbing at his eyes. He knew Gamzee cared... And he knew he would be careful. He waved goodbye to him, wheeling back into his room. He went to go shower, getting clean before dressing, pulling his legs on, standing with ease.

Gamzee sighed as he sat on the plane. He hated this. He hated being away from Tavros but there was no way that he was going to risk taking Tavros to the island during Moon Rise. Slowly, he flipped through the pictures on his phone, half of them having been taken by Tavros. One of his favorite pictures came onto the screen, a candid that he had taken of Tavros when they had gone to see the fireworks a couple years back. Tavros had been so amazed by the colors that he hadn't even seen Gamzee taking a picture of him. "You're so cute Tav. I miss you so much."

Tavros wandered downstairs, feeling the house as empty as it was. There were still a few Subjugglators around, but very few. He sighed, making his way into the kitchen, fxing himself up a sandwich.

"Do you need any help Tavros?" One of his caretakers asked.

Tavros jumped, looking over at him, startled by the sudden voice. "I've got it. T-Thank you."

"Ok. Just let me know if you need anything." He smiled at him. "I'm sorry if this is out of line, but you are very small. I don't mean that as a bad thing but it just kinda of makes sense to have someone as tall as us around when everything is so high..."

Tavros nodded. "I understand. I... Don't have a lot of uh... Height." he got out some bread and the fixings to make a pesto sandwich.

"May I ask you a personal question?" He asked softly, sitting at the table.

Tavros looked over at him, shrugging his shoulders. "That's fine." he said, scratching his head.

"Don't take this the wrong way. I don't care that you're a lowblood but why did you choose Gamzee? Or rather, what do you like about him?" Kao asked. "Oh... I'm Kao by the way."

"O-Oh..." He puffed his cheeks out, trying to remember. "He was really protective of me... And he was my first friend when I started going to school... He was really crazy back then though... Really reckless." he smiled a little. "I like him because he's so sweet to me. He cares... He doesn't mind that I'm uh... Crippled."

"Was he really addicted to sopor slime? Sorry if I'm being out of line but I thought it would be good to learn about you."

"You're not being out of line, really. It's fine." He smiled sweetly, looking around for an ingredient. "He was... It was really scary. He would get almost violently ill if he didn't have it... I'm... Really glad he's off of it."

"What are you looking for?" Kao asked, standing. "If it's the pesto then it's up here." He said, reaching in one of the higher cabinets for it. "I'll start putting it down here so you can get it. Gamzee said you really like it."

"It's something different than the usual." He smiled and shrugged, gently taking the jar. "Thank you."

"No problem. Is there anything you want me and the other Subjugglators to know about you?" He asked, sitting back at the table.

"Uhmm..." He frowned. "Not... Really?" He said, finishing his sandwich.

"Okay. If you'll excuse me. I'm going to out to the courtyard." He bowed to Tavros before leaving.

Tavros nodded, sitting down, eating quietly. He sighed softly, frowning. He finished eating, cleaning up quietly and quickly. He walked out to the back of the house, looking out to the mountians.

After a few hours, they reached the island. Gamzee grinned as he stretched. "Gotta call Tav. Kairin have someone bring everything to my chambers." He said, grabbing the giant bull as he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed the main phone at the mansion.

Tavros heard the phone ring and he hurried into house, grabbing the phone. "Hello?" he asked, his eyes wide with happiness.

"Hey Tav!" Gamzee smiled. "I just landed. I know, Kairin! I'll be in in a few minutes, I'm talking to Tavros! Sorry... Kairin's being impatient." He sighed softly. "I miss you, Tav."

Tavros smiled. "G-Gamzee!" He smiled big, cradling the phone in his hands. "Mmm~ I've missed you.. I miss you so much and it hasn't been even this long... Nnnn..."

"I love you!" He laughed. "You're so cute Tav!"

"I love you too." he said quietly, purring softly into the phone. "I miss you so much..." he frowned.

"I miss you too. Hold on." He pulled away from the phone a little. "Fuck off! I'm talking to Tav!" Gamzee shook his head, bringing the phone back to its correct position. "Just try to remember that I love you and I'll be home as soon as I can. I love you so much, Tavros."

"I know.. I love you too. I cant wait until you're home." he purred quietly, leaning back against the wall.

"Have you ran into any of your Subjugglators yet?" Gamzee asked, sitting on the concrete by the castle with the huge bull plush in his free arm.

"Uhh... I ran into Kao. He got me out the pesto earlier when I ate lunch." He said, smiling. "Other than that I haven't seen any."

"Kao is my favorite. His sister has a lowblood for a matesprit and he's really cool. I think you two will get along." Gamzee smiled. "I think her matesprit is like Aradia."

"Oh?" He asked, smiling a little bit, his eyes half closed. "Mmmm..." He purred quietly, "It's... Wonderful." he smiled sweetly. "I'm so happy that we aren't the only ones in this kind of thing... Situation."

"Were you that worried? You should know by now that I'll protect you!" Gamzee laughed a little. "They tried to get me to agree to put a recuperacoon in here for me. I forgot to tell you that you have one here too. It uses that same key that you have."

"Oh cool!" he smiled and shifted a bit, "Yeah... I don't think... You really need one." he frowned, trying not to worry about that.

"I don't either." He said softly. "That shit was just bad." Gamzee smiled, knowing that Tavros was worrying. "You don't need to worry Tav. It's not in the bedroom. Kairin hid it somewhere."

"That's good." He said, smiling slightly. "I'm thankful for that." He held the phone tight, afraid that it was going to break and he wouldnt be able to hear Gamzee's voice anymore. "I miss you."

"I miss you too. I'm actually cuddling with the bull you gave me." Gamzee told him. "It kinda smells like you..."

"Aww!" He smiled. "I'm so glad!" he giggled and shifted around a little, trying to find a comfortable position.

"It makes me happy. I love the way you smell." He smiled, breathing in against the bull.

"Aww... I wish I could be there... I really wish I could."

"I wish you could too. I have to go... The festivities are about to start and I have to be with everyone. I love you Tav." He whispered into the phone, hugging the bull close to him.

"I love you too. Take care okay?" he smiled. "And be careful!"

"I will. I have an adorable matesprit that I have to return to." He smiled. "I'll call you later."

"Okay!" He smiled, bidding Gamzee goodbye, hanging the phone back up, walking outside again.

Gamzee carried the bull to the bedroom, setting it on the bed as he changed into his Moon Rise outfit. He felt weird having so many clothes but he know that Kanaya had made these special for him. After changing he made his way to the throne room. He sat it in his throne, crossing his legs as the Subjugglators filed in. Kairin called the meeting to order.

The meeting hall was roudy, full of grumbling, angry Subjugglators, their eyes glazed over in hatred and blood lust.

Gamzee stood once everyone was inside. "My Subjugglators. WELCOME TO THE DARK MOTHERFUCKING CARNIVAL." His voice going from deadly quiet to yelling. "Let's start this miraculous holiday."

Many cheered, several scowled. "THIS IS A MOTHER FUCKING EMBARRASMENT!" one shouted.

"I AM THE GRAND MOTHERFUCKING HIGHBLOOD AND YOU WILL DO AS I FUCKING COMMAND. Or you will be culled. IS THAT UNDER-FUCKING-STOOD?" Gamzee glared at the group assembled before him. He was half their age and yet they had to listen to him.

One elder stood up, his claws sharp and out, ready to strike. "Blasphemy."

"Because I said that you shouldn't kill lowbloods? Or because I have a matesprit who is a lowblood?" Gamzee asked.

"All of the above." The elder lunged forward, claws extended for Gamzee's face.

Gamzee stepped back but still got clawed in the face. He glared at the older troll as he brought his club across the back of his head, making sure that the spikes on it hit. The troll fell to the ground. "Any other challenges?" He asked, purple blood dripping down his face. "Get the fuck out of here."

The trolls scurried out, shuffling around the body on the ground.

"Kairin. Clean this up." He said softly as he walked back to his room to clean himself up. "Tav is going to freak out when he sees this..."

Kairin worked quickly, ordering some underlings to dispose of the body. He walked back to the room, looking at Gamzee.

"What am I going to do? Tav is going to flip his shit when he sees this..." He said as he wiped away the blood. "They really don't like having me as a leader do they?"

"They miss the old... They're unused to your rule." he frowned. "Do you think they'll heal?"

"They will in a couple weeks. I'll have to be careful and keep them clean." He sighed, leaning against the seat. "Do you think I'm a good ruler Kairin? Be brutally honest."

"I think you are. You could be a little meaner." He said, standing tall.

"Thanks." He smiled at him. "I'm so used to it just being me and Tav that it's kind of weird to be mean and angry... I guess I'll just have to get my own Rufio." Gamzee laughed a little.

"For this week, you have to be as angry as you can." Kairin said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You are small compared to most of us. You have to stand strong."

"I know." He said softly. "I can do it but it's going to be weird."

"I understand." He replied, bowing his head.

"Can you tell Tav for me? I'm going to clean this up and put some medicine on it."

"Yes." He turned and left, going to find the phone.

"Thanks."

Tavros rubbed his eyes. He had fallen asleep in the chair outside. He was exhausted.

Kairin dialed the familiar number, waiting for Tavros to pick up. He would deliver the news just as Gamzee had asked but he would try to deliver it in such a way as to not scare Tavros.

Tavros reached over for the phone. "Nnn... Hello?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Tavros, I have news for you. Before I tell you though, you need to know that it wasn't severe and Gamzee is fine." Kairin started. "An older Subjugglator attacked him and he got 3 gashes across his face. He's cleaning them right now or else he would be the one to tell you."

Tavros nearly dropped the phone. "W-Wh..." He felt panic well up inside of him. "B-Bu... But"

"He's fine Tavros. It's just a few cuts." He said trying to calm him down. "He promptly dealt with the situation and has his authority back. Everything is fine."

"A-Are you sure he's going to be okay?" He asked, whimpering. "I'm worried..." He shivered, gripping the edge of the chair.

"He's fine but he might have scars." Kairin informed him. "They aren't very bad really."

Gamzee walked in. "Give me the phone. You're just freaking him out like that." Kairin nodded and passed the phone to Gamzee. "Tav? Hey. I'm fine."

"G-Gamzee..." Tavros whimpered, cradling the phone. It was comforting to be able to hear his voice. He shivered and shook his head. "It's the first night and you're already hurt... I'm scared..."

"I'm fine Tav, really. It's just a few scratches." He said softly trying to make Tavros feel better. "No reason to be scared."

"Still..." He said softly, running a hand through his mohawk. "What if something else happens?"

"Nothing will happen. It was just an initiation ritual since it's my first Moon Rise. A few others got it too." Gamzee sighed. "It's really nothing to worry about."

Somehow Tavros didn't believe that. He sighed and shook his head. "Okay... But only if you insist."

"Really, I'm fine Tav." He smiled. "Do you want me to send you a pic?"

"I... I mean if you want... I.." he wrung his hands, worrying.

"They aren't bad. I'll have scars most likely." Gamzee said softly. "They probably look really bad but they don't hurt."

Scars? Tavros thought about the scars on his legs and sighed quietly. "I... I don't know... I mean... I'm still worried."

"I know but I'm really fine."

Tavros whimpered bit nodded. "Alright. I believe you. Just please be careful from now on."

"I will. I love you Tav." He smiled softly.

"I love you too. " he smiled and said goodbye before hanging up, sighing softly.

"He's upset... Kairin, what should I do? He'll feel guilty if he knows that it's because of my feelings for him..."

Kairin sighed quietly. "He is your matesprit not mine. You have every right to be with him."

"I know but I know it would make him think it's his fault." He sighed, leaning against the wall. "I'll call him back." Gamzee picked the phone back up and dialed Tavros.

Tavros gently picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Tav... I'm sorry but I lied to you a moment ago..."

"Huh?" Tavros blinked. "W... Why?"

"Because I was attacked when I tried to start everything... One of the older trolls was upset because of our relationship and my no killing lowbloods policy..." Gamzee sighed softly. "I didn't want you to think it was your fault..."

Tavros gasped. "O.. Oh no! I'm glad it wasn't really serious then!" He frowned. He was a bit hurt that Gamzee lied to him, but he'd deal with that.

"I'm sorry Tav..." He whispered. "I just didn't want you to be even more upset about it... It's really nothing to worry about.""

Tavros nodded. "It's alright. I... I have to be strong and stand up for myself in this case."

"You're amazing Tav. I have the most amazing matesprit in the world!" Gamzee smiled.

Tavros smiled. "Awww..."

"Do you want a picture so you know what to expect?" Gamzee asked.

"Yeah, that might be for the best." Tavros braced himself for something horrible.

Gamzee pulled the phone away and turned the camera on, taking a picture of his face before sending it to him. "It's sent."

Tavros waited, getting the picture. He gasped. "Gamzee that looks really bad!"

"It's really not that bad, Tav." He said softly. "Really, it's fine. I just need to keep it clean."

"You sure?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's actually pretty shallow." Gamzee smiled softly. "It's really not a big deal."

"Alright..." He was reluctant, but he believed his matesprit.

"I'll call you later okay?" He asked. "I have to get outside to my Subjugglators."

Tavros smiled and nodded. "Okay. Call me later."

"I will. I love you, Tav." Gamzee smiled.

"Love you too, Gamzee." He said softly, clicking the phone off.

Gamzee smiled at Kairin, happy to have fixed it before his white lie could cause any problems. "I really need to be careful when we're out hunting. The others who don't like me might try to attack me again."

"I will protect you." Kairin said simply.

"Thanks Kairin. That means a lot and I think Tav will be happy with that."

Kairin simply bowed his head. "It's my duty to you. I will do whatever it is you please."

"Again, thank you, Kairin. Can you secure this shoulder strap? It keeps trying to fall down." Gamzee asked him.

"Yes sir." He quickly secured it, tightening it to where it would stay.

"Thanks. You are an awesome advisor!" He smiled up at him. "I'm glad I chose you for that."

"You are very welcome. I try to be the best I can be. " he smiled at Gamzee.

"Let's go get our party on."

Together the pair made their way to the designated location

Gamzee stood on the balcony, looking down at his people. "Subjugglators! Tonight we begin our scared festival of Moon Rise! ARE YOU MOTHERFUCKING READY?"

The Subjugglators cheered and shouted, hungry for the hunt.

"Rise to your calling! GET YOUR MOTHERFUCKING HUNT ON!" He shouted from the balcony.

The Subjugglators screamed and giggled, turning to head out into the hunting forests.

Gamzee grabbed his clubs and twirled them as he walked through the castle. "Let the show begin." A wicked grin set itself on his face.

Kairin couldn't help bit grin as they headed out to the forest.

Soon the darkness of the hunting forest covered him. He walked quickly finding a few undamaged dummies before getting too far into the forest. He swung his club and a spray of green paint covered a nearby trees. Gamzee laughed hysterically as he swung his club again.

Kairin growled, slicing into dummies filled with yellow and brown paint.

It was a couple hours before Gamzee and Kairin ran into another Subjugglator. He growled as the other tried to come close to the dummy. "Back away."

Kairin bared his teeth.

Gamzee clubbed the dummy before running off and going to the next one.

Kairin followed close by.

The night ended a couple hours later. Gamzee was covered in paint as he walked back to the castle, panting with rage. He didn't understand but he was so angry.

Kairin followed, filled with similar rage. He grumbled and walked past Gamzee going into his resting chamber.

He looked over at the clock. 4:30 am. "I'll call him in the morning. He's probably asleep." He slopped on the bed after stripping. Gamzee pulled the bull plushy close to him, curling around it as he would Tavros.

The next morning, Tavros awoke to the sound of the phone ringing. He rolled over, rubbing his eyes as he picked it up, grumbling a soft, "Hello?"

"Hey Tav." Gamzee yawned, having only been asleep for a few hours. "How did you sleep?"

"Nnnn, pretty good... How about you?" He asked.

"I slept well with the plushy you gave me but my body aches..." He whimpered. "I'm not used to that much exercise."

"Aww... Maybe take something?" He suggested, rubbing his eyes, sitting up. "Hmmm..."

"My arms hurt really bad... That club gets heavy after a while." Gamzee said softly. "I'm still covered in paint.""

"I bet! I'm sure you're really tired... I'll let you sleep if you want."

"No. I have to get up soon anyways. But I wanted to hear your voice so I can calm down some. I don't like being angry like this..."

"Aww... Well I'm here whenever you need me." He smiled and rested his head against the pillow. He had fallen asleep outside on the bed rather than in his recuperacoon

"I know. I love you, Tav. I dreamt about you last night. You were cuddled with me instead of the bull. It was a nice dream." He smiled as he spoke.

Tavros couldn't help but smile. "That is adorable!"

"Did you dream last night? Or did you sleep in the coon?" He asked softly, cuddling the bull.

"I didn't sleep in the coon." He admitted. "And I didn't dream.. Really."

"Oh ok. At least you didn't have a nightmare." Gamzee smiled softly. "I miss you."

"I miss you too." He said quietly, frowning.

"The cuts don't hurt anymore... Just thought I would let you know."

"That's good. Were you careful last night?" He asked, his voice cracking a little.

"Yes. Kairin was with me all night as well." He said softly. "He'll be with me whenever we go hunting."

Tavros smiled "Good." He said.

"We start painting tonight so it shouldn't be too bad as long as I don't get any in my wounds." Gamzee informed him. "I'm glad I got a chance to call you. I really needed to hear your voice."

"I love you." Tavros said, snuggling the pillow tighter.

"I love you too, Tav. Can you do me a favor and just talk? I don't care what you talk about, I just want to listen." He smiled softly.

"Uh... Okay. Last night I went for a walk and it was really, really cool! I kind of tripped and fell, but I'm okay. I just skinned my hand a little. Kao took care of me, and it's all better now." He smiled and looked down at the bandage on his hand.

"I'm glad you're okay." He said softly, not wanting to disrupt Tavros. "What did you have for dinner?"

"Well last night was a red meat night, so I had a steak with grilled veggies and a milkshake!" He smiled brightly, rolling over in the bed.

"You haven't had a milkshake in forever! What flavor was it?"

"..Chocolate." he smiled brightly, wiggling a little.

"Anything else happen last night?" He asked, wanting more of the calm that Tavros brought him to claim him.

"Not really. I fell asleep really early.." he yawned quietly. "But I'm still really tired."

"Do you want to get off? You should probably rest a little more."

"Yeah probably. I love you so much Gamzee." He rubbed his eyes.

"I love you too, Tavros. So much. I miss you." He smiled before hanging up the phone and pulling some clothes on. Sighing, he made his way to the kitchen and prepared himself something small for breakfast. He wasn't really that hungry but he knew he would need the energy.

Tavros sighed and rolled over, quickly falling back asleep.

Gamzee nibbled on his toast, not really wanting to do anything. A few of the Subjugglators that opposed him came in. He didn't even notice.

"We need to motherfucking all up and talk to you." They said, their intentions brutal.

"What do you want?" He growled, looking at the plate in front of him.

"Where are the motherfucking lowbloods?"

"The pissbloods, the rustbloods, and the motherfucking dirty as hell shitbloods?"

"They aren't on the island." He answered simply. "They won't be around Moon Rise." He said, his voice becoming deadly quiet.

"WHY MOTHERFUCKING NOT!? " The Subjugglator screamed.

"Because I don't want them here. We don't need to kill them."

"I want to crush every motherfucking shitblood between my fingers. THEY ARE FUCKING DISGUSTING, HORRID CREATURES WHO SHOULDN'T FUCKING LIVE." He spat, glaring at Gamzee. "You've taken that motherfucking right away from us."

"Because the only difference is blood color. They are still trolls." He stood, his club in his hand again. "I hope you know that by saying you want to kill all shitbloods, you threatened Tavros and I won't let you live for that." Gamzee swung his club, barely missing one of them.

"Who the Fuck is Tavros!?" Another of them screamed, attacking Gamzee from behind.

"My matesprit." He turned just in time to catch the others club with his hand, blood seeping down his arm from where a spike had hit his wrist.

"YOUR MATESPRIT IS A MOTHERFUCKING SHITBLOOD!? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" one screamed, his eyes angry with rage, his club aimed for Gamzee.


	64. Chapter 64

"That Tavros means a lot to him." Kairin said grabbing the club. "It is not your place to choose his matesprit. He was with Tavros long before he became our king."

"Blood color isn't a reason to not have feelings for someone and maybe if you knew what love felt like you wouldn't care about not killing lowbloods." Gamzee said.

The Subjugglators growled and turned to leave.

Gamzee sighed, leaning against the table. "Fuck... I'm so pissed right now but Tav is sleeping..."

"I'm sure he wouldn't be bothered if you called him." Kairin said softly.

"I know but he needs to sleep and I need to get used to this feeling, at least a little. I have to be cruel with them and I'm not used to this. I like being relaxed and calm..." He said softly. "I want them to understand but all they care about is murder!"

"We are a brutal race." He said simply.

"I know but I wish there was some way to show them the miracle of love..." He looked at the ground. "Maybe if I could show them that then killing wouldn't be necessary..."

"It's possible." Kairin said simply. "Just finding a way to do that surely would be hard."

Gamzee spent the next couple days hunting at night and painting during the day. He would call Tavros when he woke up and let his matesprit speak until he was calm again. It was on this night that there was a huge storm. The Subjugglators and their king still went hunting in the rain. He tried to call Tavros the next morning but the phone wouldn't connect. "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

* * *

><p>Tavros had been up for a couple of hours, looking around for something to occupy his mind while he waited for Gamzee to call. However no such call came. He tried to call, and the phone line wouldn't connect. He frowned and worried, holding onto one of Gamzee's shirts. He wouldn't eat. He felt sick with worry.<p>

* * *

><p>"Kairin the phones aren't working." Gamzee growled as he walked into the throne room. "How the fuck am I supposed to talk to Tav if the fucking phones aren't working?"<p>

"It's the storm, Gamzee." He said, a growl under in his voice. The storm must have knocked the lines down.

Gamzee screamed as he punched a wall. "He probably worried sick... I need a way to get a hold of him..." He plopped down into his throne. "We'll continue hunting like normal... Can you try to find a way to get a hold of Tav for me?"

"I will search my hardest." He said with a bow. He was lucky the castle had been wired with some sort of internet. Most of it was down, but he would work and work to find a get ahold of them

"Thank you Kairin." Gamzee said softly before getting up and going back to his room. He jumped on the bed pulling the bull plushy close to him. "I miss you so much, Tav."

Kairin worked as hard as he could, finally getting a very weak internet connection. The camera wouldn't work, but he managed to get a line through to Tavros. "Gamzee hurry come here." He called.

Gamzee ran to the throne room. "What? Did you get through?"

"I'm able to call his landline. It can only be for a few minutes." He said, dialing the number.

"Please answer Tav..." Gamzee whispered as Skype dialed his matesprit. "Please..."

Tavros had been crying. He curled up, gasping as he heard the phone ring. He quickly picked it up. "H-hello?"

"Tav! Oh thank gog. I'm so sorry. There is a bad storm here and it's cut the phone lines out." Gamzee said quickly. "I miss you so much Tav."

"Gamzee oh my gog I thought something horrible had happened!" He let out a soft sob, burying his face in Gamzee's jacket. "I was so worried"

"No. Everything is fine over here. We're just in the middle of a huge storm." He said softly. "Tav, please don't cry. I'm here! I'm fine!" He tried to comfort Tavros. "I love you, Tav."

Tavros sniffles, rubbing his eyes. "Gamzee, I'm so glad... Is... Is this the last time you'll be able to call me again?"

"I don't know but most likely. Humans aren't allowed on the island for another week or so since its Moon Rise and none of us know how to fix it... I'm so sorry Tav." Gamzee said softly.

"If I may, Highblood." Kairin bowed slightly. Gamzee nodded. "Tavros, it's Kairin. I would suggest that you prepare yourself for lots of cuddling with Gamzee. He'll need it when he gets back with how angry he'll be over the next week."

Tavros nodded. "I will be ready." He said, sniffling.

"Tav... I love you and I miss you so much. I can't wait to come home to you." Gamzee said. "I'm so sorry, Tav... I told you that I would call every day and now I can't..."

"It's okay." He said quietly. "I understand. Really." He smiled.

'Why isn't he saying he loves me?' Gamzee asked himself, closing his eyes. "Kairin, can I have the room to myself for a bit?" Kairin nodded and stood, bowing before he left the room. "Tav... Are you okay?" He asked quietly. "I know how you get when you worry."

"Huh?" Tavros blinked. "I am..." He said quietly, his eyebrows furrowed. "I love you."

Gamzee smiled, finally having heard the words he craved. "I love you too. I just worry about you."

"I know... I... Probably should eat." He said softly, biting his lip. "I love you so much, Gamzee."

"Can you wait a few more minutes? I don't know how long this connection will last and I really need to calm down." He whispered. "I love you too, Tav. So much. I miss you. Gog, how I miss you." He shook his head. "I really miss cuddling you and giving you kisses. I want to come home."

"I can wait." He smiled and held the phone. "I love you so much."

"I don't really know why but I'm so angry when I get back from a hunt. The painting helps a little but not a whole lot. Not like hearing your voice helps." Gamzee smiled softly. "I'm painting you... Not on the Wall but on a canvas that I have in the room. It helps to pass the time."

Tavros blushed dark brown. "That is so cute... Oh my gog..."

"I can take a picture of it when it's done and show it to you when I come home. What have you been up to?"

"Not... A lot really. I've been doing a little bit of reading, and I went out and picked some flowers. The house smells so good now. Hehe. I want to get a flower garde-" Tavros' voice cut off as the connection died.

Gamzee closed his eyes, his anger returning. He took a deep breath before releasing it as he forced images of Tavros to run through his mind. He stood and walked back to his room where he took up his paint brush again and began working on a painting for Tavros. This painting would have different types of flowers and a gazebo. Gamzee got lost in the painting, so lost that he almost didn't realize it was about time to start the hunt. He sighed, looking at his work. In the gazebo, stood two figures surrounded by flowers. He smiled at the completed figure of Tavros. "This is all I can do for right now..."

* * *

><p>Tavros busied himself with getting things together for when Gamzee returned. He smiled, and looked at the flowers on the table, resting his head on his arms.<p>

* * *

><p>Kairin came into Gamzee's room, bowing. "Highblood, its time."<p>

"I know." Gamzee said softly as he went to change into his hunting outfit. He sighed as he tightened the spiked shoulder armor. "Let's go." He said as they went to the balcony to go rally up the crowd. It didn't take much and soon they were off hunting. The days that followed were hazy for Gamzee. He barely ate due to his immersion into his painting. The last day came soon and Gamzee was brought onto the plane, his canvases against the wall of the inside. "I'm so ready to be home and see Tavros again." He said softly as he stared blankly out the window.

Kairin nodded. "Surely he will also be grateful."

"Yeah." He said softly. He wanted to see Tavros so badly. Finally, his anger had started to die down as he thought about having his arms around Tavros. Hours passed like days but they finally landed on the landing pad behind the house. Once the landing was complete and it was safe for them to unload the plane, Gamzee took off running trying to get to Tavros as fast as he could.

Tavros was waiting just inside, a grin on his face as he saw Gamzee. He held his arms out for him. "Gamzee!"

Gamzee slowed down as he got closer to Tavros. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around the smaller troll. "I've missed you so much, Tav. Gog, I missed you."

"Gamzee, I missed you too." He said, his eyes closed tightly. He hugged Gamzee the best he could.

He pulled away slightly before leaning down and kissing Tavros' forehead. "I love you." He whispered, kissing the same spot.

"I love you too." he replied, looking up at him, his hands gently touching the wounds. "Do they still hurt?"

Gamzee shook his head. "You can touch them if you want." He smiled softly. "Do they look scary?" He laughed.

"A little bit yeah..." He frowned. "But they're you." He smiled and kissed him gently.

Gently, he kissed back, savoring the feeling of Tavros' lips on his. "I love you." He whispered against them, keeping his eyes closed and just enjoying the moment. "I have presents for you."

"Presents?" Tavros bounced slightly with joy. "Really?"

"I painted a lot when I was there so I have some paintings for your library." He smiled, leading Tavros over to the pile of canvases. "The last one is the most special." He said wrapping his arms around Tavros.

Tavros looked at it and gasped. "Paintings that you did?" He grinned. "I love your art!"

"I'm glad you like my art." He smiled softly. "Go ahead and look through them. I want to know what you think."

Tavros sat himself on the ground, looking through them. Some were abstracts, others were images. He looked through until he got to the last one and gasped. "Oh my gog Gamzee this is beautiful!"

"You said you wanted a flower garden... Well, this was all I could do at the time..." He said softly. "Now for my favorite." He pulled a smaller canvas from one of the bags. "I painted this for you too." He held up the canvas. On it, Tavros was painted, standing strong and tall with his metal legs as he held his lance.

"Gamzee... You painted me!" He covered his mouth, looking at it. "This is amazing!"

"I'm glad you like it. Look at your arm." He smiled, pointing to the bracelet that had a small charm in the shape of Gamzee's sign.

Tavros couldn't contain his excitement. "Gamzee... You are the best matesprit in the world!" He stood, wrapping his arms tightly around Gamzee.

"I love you so much Tav." He smiled as he spoke. "I missed you so much." He wrapped his arms around his tightly. "Mmmm."


	65. Chapter 65

"Do I look okay?" Addison asked, pulling at his dressy shirt and jeans. "I feel stupid."  
>"Addy, you look fine." Eridan reassured, parking the car, waiting for Karkat and Carmine to make their way out of the house and get into the car. He sighed and looked back into the back seat, smiling at Addison's hair. It was pushed back like his own, a defiant pink stripe down the middle of his curved horns.<p>

"You look amazin'." Eridan said, smiling. "Trust me."  
>Addison pouted, looking over, watching Carmine come out of the house with Karkat in tow.<p>

"I feel stupid…"

"Addy!" Carmine smiled as she opened the door, her bright orange skirt flowing around her as her pigtails bounced when she moved. She climbed in, buckled her seat belt and started to kick her feet, her yellow flip flops hitting against her feet. "I like your shirt Addy! Pink lookth good on you!"

"Carmine was so excited about today." Karkat smiled. "You look adorable Addison!"

"No Mommy. It'th adorabubble!" Carmine giggled, grabbing Addison's hand. "Hey Addy… I know we aren't in the thame clath but you'll thtill be my betht friend, right?"

"Yup!" he smiled and papped her head. "Yes a course."

Eridan smiled and backed out of the drive way. "Let's get goin. Can't be late to school noww. First though, gotta drop Kar off at wwork and then wwe wwill be on our wway." He smiled and headed towards Karkat's work place.

"Wwas Sol not evven awwake?" Eridan asked.

"No. He came home early because of his Mid-terms but he was so tired. Carmine kept waking him up early because she was so excited about today." Karkat laughed. "He's been really tired since they've been working on their projects and stuff."

"Yay!" Carmine hugged Addison as best she could. "That maketh me really happy!"

"Ahh yeah. I bet he's tired and stuff. Sol wworks wway too hard." He frowned and shifted a bit as they got on the highway.

"Hehehe." Addison looked out the window, pouting a bit, smiling as he bounced around.

Soon they arrived at Karkat's work. Addison waved goodbye as well as Eridan.

"Bye Mommy! I love you!" Carmine blew kisses to Karkat as he got out of the car.

"I love you too Bumblebee. Be good for Eridan!" He smiled, blowing her a kiss.

Carmine grabbed Addison's hand again. "I can't wait until retheth becauthe we'll get to play together!"

"Yeah!" Addison smiled.

It wasn't long before the trio made it to their school. Eridan parked the car and got out, leading the pair inside. He dropped Addison off at his classroom and then dropped Carmine in her class, right across the hall. He then returned to the office to clock in.

Addison frowned, going in and taking a seat, looking rather frightened at the start of the class. People were looking at him weird. He felt his fins droop slightly, brushing against his cheeks.

* * *

><p>Carmine was having slight trouble adjusting to the smell of all the humans that were around as a group of human girls came and surrounded her, saying how she looked so cool with having one red eye and one blue.<p>

"What's your name?" One of the girls asked.

"Carmine Captor." She said softly, not liking the attention that they were giving her. She wanted to see Addison.

* * *

><p>Addison frowned, being surrounded by several people.<p>

"Why do ya have fins? Where are your ears?" One kid asked. Addison frowned, whimpering slightly, biting down on his lip.

"I uh… Uh…." He squirmed a little bit.

"What's with your voice? Why's it all stuttery?"

"I-It's not… I just uh…"

"You have a weird voice."

"I do not… I just havve…."

"Hahahaha he stutters!"

Addison shrunk down in his chair, whimpering, feeling tears come to his eyes. His fins flattened against his face, his hands covering his head. The teacher came over and gently rubbed his back.

"Hey now… It's okay…." She said, frowning. "That wasn't very nice of you all. I want you all to apologize to Addison." She said.

The kids apologized and went on their way. Addison sniffled, crying softly.

Soon lunch came around. Addison plopped himself down with his lunch, leaning over it eating quietly. He felt awful. His stomach hurt from crying so much earlier, and his eyes were puffy around the edges. He sniffed, looking up seeing Carmine coming over to him.

"Addy… What happened? Did thomeone make fun of your finth?" She asked, bristling slightly. "Tell me who it wath!"

He sniffed and rubbed his eyes. "Carmine you don't havve to do that… It's fin… Reely." He sniffled and took another bite of his sandwich. "Reely."

A kid from further down the table scoffed at the fish pun that was uttered under Addison's breath.

Addison whimpered and sniffled, tears sliding down his face. "Nnnn…."

Carmine got up and went down to the end of the table where the kid sat. "You think that'th funny? You know what I think ith funny?"

"Your lisp?" The kid smirked. Carmine saw nothing but red as she proceeded to punch the face of that little boy before being pulled away by Addison, who kept begging her to stop.

"You jerk! Hith finth are adorable and there ith nothing wrong with my lithp!" She yelled as Addison dragged her to the office with one of the teachers.

Addison was in tears, begging her to stop yelling and screaming. He buried his face in his hands as he was set down in the office. He was offered a tissue and a cute stuffed bunny. Eridan came in, frowning.

"Addy, wwhat's wwrong?" He hurried over to his son, wrapping his arms around him. "Shhhh….. Hey…" he frowned, cradling him against him. He sat down in the chair, pulling Addison into his lap.

"Do you care to tell me what happened? Sollux Captor is on his way here. We called him just a few minutes ago." Eridan nodded. He looked over at Carmine, who was still brimming with anger as the principal looked at her, disbelief in her eyes.

"A first grader… Getting into a fight…." She shook her head. "On the first day?" she sighed.

"Mr. Ampora." She addressed, looking at Eridan. "Is Addison alright?"

"He seems to be… Just a little upset." He frowned. "Nothin' a little hug wwon't fix." He smiled weakly.

Addison had quieted down from full on sobbing to a quiet hiccupping.

Carmine glared at the floor, kicking her feet. She didn't like the way that those stupid human children had been treating her best friend and she was not going to stand for it. "They should have jutht kept quiet." She whispered in Alternian. "Thtupid humanth…"

Eridan frowned, looking over at her. "There's nofin wwrong wwith humans, Carmine." He replied back in Alternian.

Just then Sollux walked in the door.

"Carmine Captor, what did you do?" He rolled his eyes, taking a seat next to her.

"Ah, nice of you to join us, Mr. Captor."

"Pleathe, jutht call me Tholluckth." He said, smiling weakly. "Mithter Captor ith jutht too formal for me. Really, ith fine."

"Alright. Carmine seems to have gotten into a fight, punching one other child in the face. We understand that the troll race can be rather violent, but this was unexpected. It seems however that she was standing up for Addison Ampora, over here." She pointed over to Addison, who was half asleep in his father's arms. Eridan gave him a sympathetic look.

"We would like her to go home for the day. We will send home her papers with Addison that she needs to have you or your wife sign."

Sollux nodded, completely ignoring the wife part of that statement.

"Alright. Thank you. I'm thorry for her actionth… Uthually the ithn't like thith…" he frowned, grabbing her hand. "I'll talk to her. Ith the clear to come back tomorrow?" Sollux asked, giving Carmine a harsh glare.

"Yes. We will be putting her however in the behavior class if this keeps up." Sollux nodded.

"I'll drop the papers off at your place wwhen I go to pick Kar up from wwork." Eridan said, gently touching Sollux's arm as he passed.

"Thankth. I'll be there." He led Carmine out of the room.

Carmine walked with Sollux not wanting to speak. She saw nothing wrong with what she did and felt no need for behavior classes. Once in the car, she crossed her arms over her chest. Why was she getting in trouble for those other kids being mean to Addison? It didn't make any sense.

"Carmine, what on Alternia pothethhed you to beat up a kid?" he asked, crossing his arms, before they even started to head home. "What wath the point of that?" He growled. This was unacceptable.

"Becauthe they were being mean to Addy and no one elthe wath doing anything about it." She said grumpily. Strange how she sounded like Karkat sometimes… "They shouldn't make fun of him for hith finth. That'th mean." Her attitude showing as she glared out the window.

"Tho? Ith not your plathe to thit there and beat up thomeone." He groaned, pulling out his cellphone, calling Karkat at work. He grumbled softly under his breath, hearing Karkat pick up.

"Carmine beat up thomeone at thchool and wath thent home." He said, grumbling angrily.

"What for?" He asked. "Let me talk to her."

"Yeth Mommy?" Carmine asked when she got the phone.

"Carmine. What the fuck were you thinking, beating someone up at school?" He asked, ranting in Alternian.

"Thethe kidth kept making fun of me and Addy, tho I fikthed it thinthe no one elthe wath." She said proudly.

"Listen to me carefully. It's a good thing to stand up for yourself and for your friends but it's not okay to beat people up. I'm not happy with the way you handled it but you need to learn that humans don't always take kindly to trolls." He sighed. "Do you understand?"

"Tho I can protect Addy without beating people up? How?" She asked.

"Tell Uncle Eridan or a teacher. They'll take care of it." He smiled. "You can take care of it by pulling yourself and Addison away from the mean kids and going to Eridan. Okay?"

"Yeth Mommy." Carmine sighed softly. "I'm thorry…"

"It's alright Bumblebee. You didn't know."

Sollux drove them home. He yawned once he got there, pulling into the drive way. He flopped down on the couch, rubbing his eyes. He was exhausted. He didn't feel so hot. He pulled the blanket over him, curling up into a ball. "Nnn…"

"Do you want thome tea Daddy? You're yellow…" Carmine asked softly as she brushed some hair from his face. "Are you okay?"

"I don't feel tho hot." He said, curling up, pulling the blanket over his head. "My head hurth… I jutht need thome more thleep…." He rubbed his eyes, groaning as he curled up under the blanket, tucking it around himself.

"Mommy made you thome thoup…" She said quietly as she crawled up on the couch with her father. "Daddy… Do they know that Mommy ith a guy?"

Sollux mumbled something unintelligible under the blanket, groaning quietly. He shivered. "Nnnn….. Carmine I don't feel good." He said, coughing a little, sniffling.

"I'll go heat up the thoup." She said as she crawled off the couch, grabbing the house phone as she did so. Dialing Karkat's cell, she stuck the bowl in the microwave heating it for 3 minutes.

"Hello?"

"Mommy, Daddy ith thick…"

"Heat him up some of that soup I made for dinner last night and make him drink lots of water or juice." Karkat instructed. Carmine nodded, getting out her orange juice to pour a glass for Sollux.  
>"Okay Mommy. I love you!"<p>

"I love you too Bumblebee. Take good care of Daddy for me."

Sollux rolled over, sprawling out. He felt awful. He coughed and got up, going into the bathroom. He washed over his face with cold water, coming back out. "Carmine what are you doing?" he asked, frowning.

"Heating up the thoup and getting you thome juithe. That'th what Mommy thaid to do." She said as she brought the bowl and the glass into the living room.

"Nnn… Not hungry. I'm fine." He said, rubbing his eyes. "I need to take a thower…. I've gotta go to clathh…." He frowned and looked at the bowl. "Nnn… Carmine I don't want it…"

"Lay your thkinny ath down and retht. You're not going to clath, Daddy." She crossed her arms. "You need to drink thith juithe and retht."

"Who thayth?" He scowled. "You got into a fight, I thould thend you to your room." He said, growling. "Ugh." He plopped down on the couch, his head spinning. "Nnnn…" he held the sides of his head, his psionics sparking.

"Mommy thaid and Mommy will kick your ath!" She laughed. "I have to take care of you until Mommy getth home."

"Speaking of which." Karkat smiled as he walked into the living room. "I'm home and you're staying home tonight. Now eat your soup and drink your juice."

Addison came in right as Karkat did, walking over to Carmine, wrapping his arms around her tightly.  
>Sollux grumbled. "I need to thee what I got on my midterm…. Damn…Why can't I go tonight?" he felt his psionics wrap around his hands, groaning quietly. "Nnn… My head hurth tho bad…" he flopped back down onto the couch, holding his head.<p>

"Exactly. You're staying home." Karkat said softly, walking over to Sollux and kissing his forehead. "After you eat, I want you to go rest in the recuperacoon for a while." He ran his fingers through Sollux's hair.

"I'm thorry Addy…" Carmine whispered as she hugged him back. "I didn't like what they did but Mommy told me how I can fikth it!"

Sollux whimpered, his eyes tightly closed. "Will… You rub my head like you uthed to?" he asked, whimpering.  
>"It's alright." Addison said, smiling weakly. "I just… Didn't wwant you to get in trouble, but you did…. M'sorry." he whimpered, bowing his head a little, resting it against her shoulder. "Thank you for standin' up for me though…. It means a lot."<p>

"You're my betht friend Addy." Carmine smiled. "I would do anything for you!"

"Of course. But I need you to raise your head so I can sit." Karkat smiled at him. "Do you want me to hum like I used to as well?"

Sollux managed a soft noise, lifting his head, resting it on Karkat's lap as he sat down. He whimpered quietly, feeling Karkat rest his hands in his hair. He missed this.

Addison smiled, pulling back after a bit. "Gotta go. Don't wanna keep dad wwaitin'." he said, smiling a bit before heading out the door, pulling it shut behind him.

Carmine smiled and went to go sit with her parents. "Mommy, why doeth Daddy like laying on you tho much?"

"Well Bumblebee, Daddy used to get horrible nightmares and hear voices so I would do this to calm him and make the voices go away." He smiled as he explained. "Daddy used to hate how it always made him sleepy." Karkat kept his fingers running through Sollux's hair at an even pace. "It's one of Daddy's favorite things for me to do!"

Sollux couldn't help but let his eyes droop shut gently, his eyes moving gently behind his eyelids. He leaned into Karkat gently, whimpering as Karkat's fingers worked around his horns and down to his temples, where it hurt the worst.

"Nnn… Ow…" he whimpered, his psionics gently wrapping up around Karkat's hands, just resting there.

"I'm sorry, Love." He whispered, moving his fingers even more gently around his temples. "Better?" He asked.

"Yeah…" He whispered, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "A lot better." He decided to avoid 'S' sounds, feeling that his lisp was doing nothing but being annoying. He shifted a bit on the couch.

"Carmine you can lay on me if you want." He said. "I'm thorry about earlier." He whispered, frowning.

"Okay… I'm thorry too Daddy." She said softly as she crawled on him. "I love you."

"You two are so cute." Karkat smiled as he kept rubbing Sollux's temples.

Sollux whimpered softly, rubbing his eyes, rolling onto his stomach as he let Karkat massage his head. "You're too good to me…" he whispered, kissing Karkat's thigh gently. "Too good…" his voice got softer as he got sleepier.

"All because I love you." He whispered, leaning down and kissing the side of his head. "I love you, Sollux."

Carmine fell asleep on Sollux's back, curled up into a small ball.

"I wonder how I'm going to make dinner… Well, I guess I could order pizza…" Karkat thought out loud.

Sollux nodded. "Pizza thoundth good." He muttered, stretching out a bit. "Nnn….. Thank you." He felt himself drift into unconsciousness, warmed by the wriggler on his back and his head in Karkat's warm lap. He purred softly. It was a low sound, mainly in the back of his throat.

"Aw. Isn't that cute? He's purring again." Karkat smiled. 'Maybe… Just maybe I am good enough…'

Sollux whimpered quietly in his sleep, words gently slipping out from his lips about Karkat and grubs and other weird things. He drooled lightly against Karkat's thigh, mumbling about grubs and about names. His hands twitched lightly, his arms shifting against Karkat, his hand gently rubbing Karkat's tummy, mumbling something softly.

Karkat sat there confused as Sollux rubbed his tummy. "Sollux… Why do you keep talking about grubs? Do you… Do you want another one?" He asked quietly. "Baby…"

Sollux clicked his tongue a couple of times before muttering something completely random like "rising fog" and went back to sleep, his hand still gently twitching against Karkat's stomach. His mind raced. He was talking with Karkat in his mind, mumbling simple things like grubs and how he couldn't wait to have another.

"Sollux… Are you still asleep?" Karkat asked softly, still petting his hair.

He shifted, his eyes still closed. "KK wha…." He rubbed his eyes, feeling Carmine slip off his back.

Carmine slipped onto the couch as she slept.  
>"Why didn't you tell me?" Karkat asked, a soft smile on his face. "You should have just told me."<p>

"Huh?" He looked over at Karkat, opening his eyes slightly. "Nnn? Told you what?"

"Why didn't you tell me that you wanted another grub?" Karkat asked, giggling a little. "I think it's cute but are you sure?"

"W-Wh…." He opened his eyes wide. "W-Wath I thaying that….?" He asked. "I… I uh… I mean… It… It wath thomething I had been thinking about but uh… I…" he bit his lip.

"Why didn't you tell me that you had been thinking about this? I've been kinda thinking about it too…" Karkat smiled at him. "I think we should but we…."

"I… Wouldn't be oppothed to it… Really." He frowned. "I mean…. To give Carmine a thibling would be really nice…" he smiled and scooted closer to Karkat, snuggling against his warmth. "I'm thorry I'm thick… I gueth I caught it at thchool…" he frowned, nuzzling his neck. "Maybe…. We can find a night… You know to… Uh…. Yeah…"

Karkat's face turned bright red. "Well… I have Saturday and Sunday off… Maybe Carmine would like to spend the weekend at Eridan and Feferi's…" He looked away from Sollux, face turning even more red.

"Oh… I'd like that." He smiled. "I jutht hope I'm feeling better by then…" he purred, licking up the side of Karkat's neck, giving him a gentle nip. "Mmm…. I wouldn't mind a nithe night with you." He smiled, kissing Karkat's neck, his hands gently pushing him against the couch, purring against his neck. He moaned softly, wetting his lips.

Karkat tilted his head to the side, moaning quietly. "Sollux… Ah... Baby…" He whispered as Sollux nipped at his neck. "Kiss me?"

Sollux moved his face against Karkat's, capturing his lips against his, his tongue gently slipping into his mouth, quickly making the kiss sloppy. His hands drifted to Karkat's hips, his hands sliding up underneath Karkat's shirt. He moaned quietly, purring softly. He pulled back for a second, licking at Karkat's lips before letting the kiss grow sloppy once more.

Karkat kissed him back, letting his arms drape over Sollux's shoulders. "Baby…" He whimpered when Sollux pulled away. He moaned softly into the kiss as Sollux reclaimed his mouth.

Sollux moaned quietly, hands working quickly on Karkat's shirt. "Thit… Why wait.." he mumbled against Karkat's lips, his hips gently grinding against Karkat's leg. "Nnn…"

"Daddy… Thtop trying to fuck Mommy on the couch with me here…" Carmine said lazily before getting up, going back up to her room to sleep some more.

"Fuck…" Karkat whimpered, watching Carmine leave. "That could have been bad…" He whispered, kissing Sollux again.

Sollux whimpered. "Thorry…." He whispered, looking back at her as she walked up the stairs. The Gemini moaned quietly, leaning against Karkat. "Fuck…" he purred, taking Karkat's hand and pressing it gently against the bulges in his sweat pants. "I love you…. You do thith to me…" he panted softly.

"I noticed…" Karkat whispered into Sollux's ear. "Baby… Take me... Please…" He whimpered as he pushed his hand against Sollux's bulges. "Please…"

"Lie down and take thothe damn pantth off." He said softly, pushing him back against the couch. His hands were a little weak, his body shaking with effort. He pulled his own pants off, his bulges wriggling free. He purred and pulled Karkat's pants off, tossing both pairs to the ground before laying over Karkat, his bulges searching out his nook. He let his fingers brush against the still mostly closed sheath.

Karkat shifted his hips so Sollux's bulges could enter him. He just wanted that feeling of Sollux's body against his. "Ah Baby!" He gasped as he was filled with his lover. Softly moaning, his sheath opened and his bulge started to poke out. "Sollux…" He whimpered, pushing his hips up into Sollux's thrusts, moaning with each one.

Sollux moaned, thrusting inside of him, his bulges stretching his nook with ease. "Nngh fuck…" he hissed, trying to keep quiet for Carmine, who was upstairs sleeping…. Or he hoped at least. He purred against him, his hands raking down Karkat's sides gently, moaning with each and every thrust.

Karkat arched his back as the thrusts became harder and deeper. His bone bulge had already started to drip with precum as he ran his nails down Sollux's back. He gasped, feeling Sollux nip at his neck again. "Fuck… Sollux…" He whimpered, thrusting his hips up again and taking Sollux deep.

Sollux moaned softly. "KK…" he purred. "Nnn…." He nipped at the warm flesh on his neck, whimpering softly, feeling Karkat grow slicker. He thrust deeper inside, hoping with whatever effort he could, that something good would come out of all of this. He smiled and raked his nails against his chest, moaning quietly. "Thit…."

"Sollux… Be rough with me… Please? I… Ahh… I want you to." He whimpered, panting softly as he fought off his release. Karkat wanted this to last as long as it could.

"Rough?" He grabbed hold of Karkat's hips, slamming deep inside, feeling his bulges coil up inside him, moaning against Karkat's chest, trying to keep it quiet as to not wake Carmine upstairs. He moaned and shifted against him harder and harder, feeling that familiar feeling pool in his stomach. "KK…"

"Oh Gog Sollux!" He gasped, hands over his mouth to muffle his moans, which were steadily getting louder with the heat flooding his body. "I love you." Karkat whispered to his lover before kissing his neck softly. He loved it when Sollux was rough with him but he found it hard to be anything but sweet, gentle and soft with his matesprit.

Sollux cried out. He couldn't hold it in any longer. He spilled into Karkat, filling him with hot release as he fell against him, panting, his bulges still coiled inside of him.

Karkat released, crying out loudly into his hands. After a moment, he wrapped his arms Sollux's shoulders. "I love you Sollux." He whispered, gently kissing his lover's cheek. "So much."

Sollux panted against him, wrapping his arms around him. "Nnn… I… I love you too." He whispered. "Tho much… Tho, tho, tho, tho, tho much."

"Rest Baby… You still have a fever…" Karkat kissed his forehead. "I'm going to get dressed and fix dinner."

"Nnn…. O-okay…" he said softly. He crawled off of Karkat, flopping down on his stomach, covering himself with the blanket on the couch. He didn't care that he was naked… Who else would? He grumbled and grabbed the pillow with his powers, shoving it under his head.

Karkat pulled on Sollux's sweatpants and went into the kitchen, trying to decide on what to cook for dinner. He stood in the middle of the kitchen for a moment before grabbing the phone and dialing Dominos. "I would like to place an order for delivery. A large meat lovers, a large barbeque chicken pizza and an order of breadsticks. Yes. Sollux Captor. Okay. Thank you." He sighed, putting the phone back on the charger before going back into the living room and crawling onto the couch with Sollux. "Pizza will be here in half an hour."

Sollux mumbled something and nodded. "Okay…" he said quietly, rubbing his eyes. "Mmm….. Thank you for that." He said, looking up at him. "I needed that." He said, smiling. "I gueth I jutht mith being held or thomething…" he shrugged and sat up. "I wanna lay on you come here…"

Karkat smiled as he slipped under Sollux. "I missed you holding me like that too." He kissed Sollux's cheek. "We don't get a lot of time to ourselves… I've been thinking about staying up until you get back from school but I end up passing out before 10…" He laughed a little. "Saturday is going to be fun."

"Thaturday will be fun." He smiled, purring against him. "Nnn…. I rather like thith…." He said, purring louder. "Nnnn…." He nuzzled against Karkat. "I love you."

"I love you too Baby." He wrapped his arms around the thinner troll. "I'm glad you can't go to school tonight. You really need to rest. I say we lay here until I have to get up to get the food."

"Okay…. That workth for me." He said, snuggling against him. "Nnn…. I really…. Hope what we did worked." He smiled slightly, purring, his hands touching Karkat's stomach.

"Me too but it's not like we can't keep trying if it doesn't." He smiled softly. "I think Carmine would be ecstatic to have a sibling… But… With your whole duality obsession… I kinda hope for twins… If it even does happen that is..." He giggled.

"T-TWINTH?!" He gasped, looking up at Karkat. "Oh Gog… That'th…. I don't know…" he bit his lip. "T-two ith enough don't you think?" he asked, his face flushed yellow.

"Well… We didn't actually have Carmine… She was given to us by another us from a different timeline so I thought it would be fitting…" Karkat said softly. "That doesn't mean I would love her any less. She's my baby girl but I just thought…"

"I know I know." He said, touching Karkat's arm. "I'm aware. I don't want you to think I don't want thith ath much ath you do. Becauthe I do."

"I don't think that. I know you want it or else you wouldn't have been dreaming about it, Sollux. I just…." He sighed. "I just think that having a set of twins would be cute… We could dress them in matching clothes and… Oh I hope for boys! Wouldn't that be cute?" Karkat smiled, not even trying to hide his excitement.

Sollux grinned. "It would be cute…." He said softly, looking down at his hands. "Do you think we could really handle all that?" he asked, his eyes wide. "I mean… I don't wanna get in over our headth…"

"We can do it because it's us." Karkat smiled at him, kissing his cheek gently. "We can do anything!"

The Gemini couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah I gueth we can." He coughed a little, leaning back against Karkat. "Nnn…" he held his hand on his chest. "I hope thith clearth up."

"It will. You just need to rest and eat your fucking soup." Karkat laughed softly. A knock on the door disrupted the sweet moment. "I'll be right back. I have to get the pizza." He said as he got up. A man with a huge smile greeted him.

"Did you order pizza?"

"Yes." Karkat said as the man handed him the pizzas. "Thank you." He murmured before slamming the door shut. "Sollux! Carmine! Food!"

Sollux winced. "I thought I wath eating thoup…." He said, shifting. "You took my pantth…" he frowned. "How am I going to eat…. Not naked I hope… KK, go get me pantth…"

"You are eating soup. I'm going to reheat it. Again." He smiled. "You don't need to get dressed if you're staying on the couch." Karkat smirked. "I'm going to go wake Carmine up. Besides, my clothes are right there." He pointed to the pile of clothes on the floor.

Sollux grumbled. "Fine, fine." He grumbled, looking at him. He sat up, pulling the blanket over himself.

Karkat went upstairs and peeked into Carmine's room. "Bumblebee. Wake up. Dinner is done." He said softly as he walked over to her bed.

Carmine shifted, rubbing her eyes. "Okay Mommy. I'll be down in a minute." She said softly.

"Okay, Bumblebee."

The Gemini yawned and pouted. "I don't want thoup…." He mumbled, shaking his head. "Ugh…"

"Get over it Captor." Karkat said as he walked down the stairs, a still sleepy Carmine right behind him.

"Daddy, do you feel any better?" She asked, going into the living room.

"A little bit, thweetie." He said, smiling. Actually, he felt a lot better now that the sexual tension between himself and Karkat was out of the picture. He smiled and leaned back against the couch, the blanket slipping lower on his stomach.

"Okay. Eat your thoup tho you can get even more better!" She smiled at him.

"Carmine, can you come get this and take it do Daddy?" Karkat yelled from the kitchen, a bowl of warm soup in his hands.

Carmine ran into the kitchen and put a psionic lid on the bowl before carrying it to the living room. "The thoup ith really good! I had 3 bowlth latht night!"

Sollux reached for the bowl. "Three? You mutht have been hungry." He said softly, coughing a bit. "Hmm…." He held the bowl in his hands, smiling. "At leatht it thmellth good."

"Mommy made it. Of courthe it'th good!" Carmine giggled before running back to the kitchen and dowsing a slice of barbeque chicken pizza with honey.

"Slow down when you eat, Carmine." Karkat scolded as he nibbled on his slice.

"Yeth Mommy." She said softly, eating a little bit slower.

"Thank you Bumblebee." He smiled at her. 'If we had another grub… I wonder what I would call it… I have a Honey Bee and a Bumblebee…' Karkat thought to himself, again forgetting about Sollux's ability to read his mind.

"Beeth." Sollux said, looking back into the kitchen, a grin on his face as he took a few sips of soup. "Mmmm… At leatht it helpth my throat." He said softly, sipping a little more.

"What about Beeth?" Carmine asked.

"Nothing. Just a random thought that I had." Karkat smiled at her before taking a bite of his pizza. 'Fuck you Captor.'

"Hehehe…. Gladly." he replied, smirking from in the other room. "Mommy keepth forgetting thomething important about me." He grinned.

"That Daddy can read Mommy'th mind? Thilly Mommy." The littlest Captor laughed.

"So sue me. We don't spend a lot of time together so I forget…" He pouted, looking away from his daughter. 'Fuck you and not in the nice way.'

"Hehehe, thure whatever." He smirked. "It'th nothing new to me." He smiled. "And yeth, Daddy can read mommy'th mind." He smiled and drained the rest of the soup.

"I fucking hate you in the most platonic way possible." Karkat shouted from the kitchen.

"Lieth!" Carmine giggled. "You don't hate Daddy, Mommy. Remember what wath happening before I went to my room."

"Carmine!" Karkat looked at her, his face bright red. "That's not something that you need to be bringing up!"

Sollux burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he doubled over from pain in his stomach. He gasped for air, wheezing a bit as tears sprang from his eyes. "Oh my Gog!" he laughed even harder, getting in a good breath of air, the now empty soup bowl tumbling to the ground.

Karkat facepalmed after setting his pizza back on his plate. "Well… That proves you are definitely mine…" He sighed, shaking his head.

"Like we didn't know that Mommy." Carmine said. "I honethtly had no idea that you were my Mommy. Totally not why I call you that."

"Shut up and eat your pizza Carmine." Karkat said softly.

Sollux couldn't breathe. He smacked the side of the couch, finally taking in a big breath of air. "Oh Gog…. Wow…" he smirked, wrapping the blanket around his hips, using his powers to hold it up as he walked into the other room, carrying the bowl with him. "That wath great."

"Hehehe did I make Daddy thmile?" She asked.

"I don't know what I am going to do with the two of you…." Karkat shook his head again but you could see the smile on his face. "I love you two."

"Yeth, you made me thmile." He said, blowing her a kiss. He put the bowl in the sink and kissed Karkat's head gently. "Love you too."

"Yay! Aunt Feferi thaid that thmileth are the betht medithine!" Carmine giggled.

"Well, I think love is the best medicine." Karkat smiled up at Sollux. "What do you think Sollux?"

"Love ith good." He grinned. He kissed his forehead, grinning. "Yeth. Indeed."

"Daddy! I'm right here you know!" The Orange blood sighed. "Thometimeth I don't know what to do with you two…"

"Now you know how I feel."

Sollux grinned, laughing. "I know you're right there. It'th fine." He grinned and papped Karkat's shoulder, smiling sweetly at them both. "Now I'm going to bed. I'm tired and thick." He left the room, walking up the stairs, ignoring the looks from the pair in the kitchen.

Saturday rolled around quickly. Sollux smiled as he handed Carmine's sleep stuff to Eridan, who said he'd watch the kid for the night. He smiled and kissed Carmine gently, walking back into the house with Karkat as he closed the door behind him.

"The houthe ith ourth today and tonight. Ith only uth." He smiled, pulling Karkat close to him, gently kissing him.

Karkat nodded, rubbing his hands up Sollux's chest as they kissed. He pulled back far enough to whisper to Sollux. "I kinda miss being able to do this whenever we wanted."

"I do too, but that'th what wrigglerth take away from uth." He smiled. "But luckily we have my awethome moirail, ED to take them." He smiled. "Well… Her for now." He grinned and kissed him again, arms slipping around his hips. "Mm… KK, I mithed thith."

"You know Gam would take her too." He smiled up at Sollux, his arms draped over Sollux's shoulders, lazily playing with his hair. "You're getting taller… So are your horns." He said softly before kissing Sollux's collar bone. "I love you." Karkat whispered, looking up at his lover, lust in his eyes.

"Maybe I am. I'm not done growing." He smiled, leaning against him with a happy smile. "I mean really… KK, I love you." He grinned and lifted him bridal style, slinging Karkat over his shoulder before carrying him upstairs.

"What's with you lifting me? Do you like carrying me around?" He laughed, holding onto Sollux's shirt. "You used to never pick me up…"

"I do. I feel better from a few dayth ago and I felt like picking you up. Got a problem?" he smirked and flopped him down on the bed in their bedroom.

"No. I just thought it was strange that you've been picking me up a lot more since we moved here." He smiled before grabbing his shoulders. "Now get down here and kiss me."

"Not a problem." He smiled and leaned down, kissing him feverishly, his hands moving under Karkat's shirt, feeling the warmth under his fingertips.

Karkat slipped his fingers under the band of Sollux's sweatpants, kissing him back with a passion. He slipped his hands into the pants entirely and began to rub his thumbs against his hips. Karkat was glad that Sollux hardly ever wore a shirt, made undressing him that much easier. He, however, always wore a shirt because he felt he was getting chubby since he hadn't been working out.

Sollux moaned quietly against his lips, moaning softly. He shifted his hips, letting Karkat pull the sweatpants down carefully. He smiled and licked his lips, sliding his hands over Karkat's stomach gently. "Mmm… I love you. Tho much."

"I love you too." He whispered, kissing him softly before pulling back to push the sweat pants off completely. "I think my clothes need to come off too…" He smirked as he threw the pants off the side of the bed.

"Yup." He grinned, tugging at the shirt still clothing Karkat's chest. "Off." He said, grinning widely. "I want to thee it come off." He sat back, pulling it up to kiss Karkat's stomach gently.

Karkat sat up and pulled the shirt off, showing his torso. "Are you going to have me completely undress myself, Captor?" He asked, a smirk on his face as he reached for the zipper of his jeans.

"Nope." Sollux said quickly, reaching for the zipper, pulling Karkat's pants off, tossing them to the floor. He grinned, playing with the hem of his boxers, licking his lips. "Mmm…" he hummed, slipping a finger into the waist band, playing with the edge of the sheath. "Hehehe."

"Mmmm." Karkat hummed, feeling his sheath start to open just the slightest bit. He decided it would be a good idea to use his arms to prop himself up as he watched his matesprit's hands with those long fingers that promised him pleasure and heat.

Sollux smirked and pulled the boxers down over his hips, revealing the parting sheath. He grinned leaning down further, dragging his tongue against the soft flesh. "Hehehe, KK. You remember the latht time we did thith? In the kitchen?" he smirked and moved lower, his tongue brushing against the edge of Karkat's nook.

"Fuck… Yes… I remember…" He whimpered, his head lolling backwards.

The Gemini chuckled, slowly slipping his forked tongue into Karkat's nook, working them gently, smirking. "Mmm~"

"Ah~" Karkat cried out, the sound almost like a scream. "Fucking hell…" He moaned, as he pulled one hand to his mouth to muffle the moans. Heat started to flood his body as Sollux pleasured him with his tongue. "Gog… Baby…"

Sollux chuckled lightly, lapping at Karkat's nook, grinning as he pulled back after a moment, his eyes dark. "Like?" he asked softly, a faint yellow blush on his cheeks.

"Don't stop… Please…" Karkat whimpered, begging for Sollux to continue.

"I won't." He said, going right back in, lapping softly. He busied his hands with Karkat's bone bulge, slipping his fingers around it gently, moving them against the slick muscle.

Karkat whimpered and moaned as Sollux worked on him. 'It's official. I love your tongues.' He thought, a low moan escaping his from his mouth as he grew closer to his climax. "Sollux… I'm going to…."

"Nope." He pulled back after a moment, a dark grin on his features. "Not yet." He smirked, moving back, shifting his hips against Karkat's as he slithered up the Cancer's body. He purred against him, his voice soft. "I love my KK." He whispered, feeling his bulges entwine with Karkat's squeezing gently. He moaned against Karkat's neck, sending vibrations across his skin.

"Oh my Gog... Sollux please… Don't do this to me…" He whimpered pushing his hips up against Sollux's. "Please Baby…" He gasped as their bulges tangled together.

"Patienthe." He said, leaving feather light kisses along his jaw, grinning as he felt his bulges sink lower. "Nngh fuck…" he panted, gently nipping at Karkat's neck, leaving small hickies.

"I have no patience…" Karkat said softly, tilting his head to give Sollux better access to his neck. "Please… Sollux, I'm begging…"

"Begging won't help you." He said, smiling, licking down his neck gently. "Come on…" he smirked.

"Fuck you." Karkat said softly, reaching down with his hand and pushing a finger into his nook, moaning as he did so.

Sollux used his powers to grab both of Karkat's hands, pinning them above his head, smirking even wider as he did so. He let one of his bulges gently brush against the edge of Karkat's nook, grinning widely. "Heh."

Karkat began to try to fight out of Sollux's powers, wanting his bulges. "JUST FUCK ME ALREADY!"

Sollux laughed, grinning. "Fine, Fine." He shoved a bulge in soon followed by the other, grinning as he did so, biting down gently on Karkat's neck.

"Fuck…. Yes!" He moaned, shifting his hips up to take him in deeper. He tried to move his arms so that he could hold onto his matesprit but he found that his arms were still being pinned by the swirling red and blue energy.

Sollux let them go gently, grabbing hold of Karkat's hips instead, pushing forward into him, crying out. "Nngh thit…" he breathed, digging his nails into Karkat's hips.

Heat washed over Karkat like a tidal wave as his release came even closer. He arched his back as Sollux thrust into him. Before his release came, a tingling sensation wrapped around the base of his bulge. "Sollux… YOU FUCKING DICK! Ahh… Fuck me… Please Baby…" He screamed, raking his nails down Sollux's back.

Sollux smirked and slammed into him, his bulges writhing. He slipped his hands around him, holding him close to him as he thrust. "Thit KK…"

Karkat moaned loudly, keeping his hips up as Sollux's slammed into him. "Sollux… Please let me… Please…" He whimpered. "It hurts…"

Sollux whimpered, panting quietly. "Ok…" he let his powers go, feeling Karkat's nook tighten around him. "T-Thit thit KK…!" he gasped out, feeling his own stomach tighten.

Karkat released almost immediately. "Sollux!" He cried out, his entire body tightening. He wrapped his arms around Sollux's arms, gripping his shoulders tightly as he rode out his orgasm.

Sollux dug his hands into Karkat's hips, moaning and whimpering softly, his mouth pushing against Karkat's shoulder. "Nngh…."

His body tingled in all the right places as Sollux kept thrusting into him. He vaguely hoped that this would be what did it… What made having another grub possible… Quietly, he moaned as Sollux kissed and nipped his shoulder. "I love you." Karkat whispered to his lover.

"Nngh. Love you too." He whispered, his body tensing as he released inside of Karkat, filling him to the brim. He panted, his body covered with a sheen of sweat, beading around his forehead as he rested against Karkat's bare chest.

Karkat gently ran his hands through Sollux's hair, smiling softly as he relaxed with his matesprit. "Sollux… Can we go change my name tomorrow?" He asked softly.

"Nnn… Thure." He said, looking up at him. "I don't thee why not." He smiled. "Nnn…. I like it when you pet me like thith…. Hehehe."

"I know. That's why I do it." Karkat smiled at him. "I get to officially be a Captor…" He grinned as he thought about it. For some reason, images of a human wedding started to fill his mind but he knew that nothing like that would happen because Sollux didn't want commitment….

Sollux caught on to these images. He felt warmth in his chest, and sudden sadness as images of betrayal and other sad things drifted in. He gripped Karkat's hand gently. "Can we not think about that?" he asked softly, looking away, his eyes closing. He wanted to forget about all of that. He wanted the past to be erased… He knew that wasn't possible. He gripped Karkat's hand tighter, laying his head over Karkat's stomach. "I….Nnn…" he frowned. "I'm thorry…" he whispered.

"Oh… I'm sorry… I didn't know you could see it…" Karkat whispered. "I love you." He ran his fingers through Sollux's hair. Karkat let images of a little wriggler with two sets of horns but shaped like his with Sollux's mismatched eyes and the most adorable orange blush, fill his mind. "If it did happen… What would you want for a name?" He asked softly, grabbing Sollux's hand with his free hand.

"I… Really want to name him or her after my anthethtor…. Pollux." he smiled, looking at Karkat with happy eyes. "It'th fine."

"I like that name." He smiled. "If twins happen... Can we name the other Castor? Like your constellation? Does that sound good to you?" Karkat looked down at his matesprit, wishing that there was a golden ring around his finger, claiming Sollux as only his.

"Yeah." He smiled. Sollux lifted their hands, kissing over them gently. "I love you. More than anything, Ever."

The next few days at school went fine for Addison. He made a couple of friends, but not many. He stayed quiet for a good majority of the day, meeting up with Carmine for lunch. She would talk with him about everything. He would tell her things about uncle Eridan and how he and Feferi would glub around the house on the weekend, taking Addison to the pool. He talked about swimming, which made his fins flap happily, grabbing a few giggles from the girls around him.

Carmine giggled as she watched Addison's fins move. She loved his fins and his adorabubble stutter. She just loved everything that had to do with Addison. "Addy. I love you!" She smiled at him, grabbing his hand.

"Aww thanks, Carmine." He smiled and squeezed her hand, his fins flapping, his face flushing pink.

Carmine smiled softly but she was worried. Even though she didn't actually know what it meant to be in love, she felt saddened by the fact that Addison didn't say it back to her. Carmine's class was called to return to their classroom so she hugged her best friend and went back to class. After being in class for a few minutes, she couldn't hold it anymore and went to the bathroom, translucent orange tears streaming down her cheeks. She had been in the bathroom for about 5 minutes when another girl came in and commented on how stupid Carmine was for crying during school.

"Fuck you, you thtupid bitch!" She yelled before pushing the girl on the ground and punching her in the face before being grabbed up by the teacher who had come in to check on her.

"Carmine Captor! I can't believe that you would use such foul language!" She scolded as she carried the little troll to the office.

"We need to call her parents and get her under control!" The woman yelled as she entered the brightly lit office.

"Is anyone at home, Carmine?" The secretary asked.

"No. Mommy ith at work and Daddy ith working on Uncle Gamthee'th computer."

"Who is closer?"

"Mommy." She said softly. "Can I talk to Mommy?" The woman nodded and handed the child the phone after dialing the number.

"Hello?" Karkat said into the phone, it was unusually slow at the restaurant.

"Mommy. I got in trouble again…" Carmine said softly.

"Do they want me to come get you?" Carmine relayed the message to the principal who simply nodded.

"Yeth." Karkat told her that he would be there as soon as he could.

The counselor sighed, looking at her with saddened eyes. "Why did you hit her?" she asked, buzzing Eridan in. A few minutes later, Eridan Ampora walked in, rolling his eyes.

"Carmine, wwhat in the wworld?" He sighed, sitting down next to her. "Wwhat did you do noww?"

"She made fun of me… I got mad… You know how bad my temper ith Uncle Eridan." She said in Alternian. The teacher spoke quietly with the counselor about Carmine's language.

"I wonder where she learned such words." The woman whispered.

Karkat walked into the office. "Carmine! What the fuck did you do?" He said in English, having trained himself to only speak in English around humans.

"Hi Mommy!" She smiled at him.

"Excuse me sir. You can't be in here. We're waiting for Mrs. Captor." The teacher said, trying to get Karkat to leave.

"Excuse me, Miss Priss. But Carmine is my daughter and there is no Mrs. Captor." He said, walking over to Carmine. "You got into another fight, didn't you, Bumblebee." He said softly, cupping her face with his hands. "What did I tell you about this shit?" Karkat finally switched over to Alternian.

"Sir. You aren't her mother…" The woman was cut off by Karkat glaring at her.

"I am her mother. I gave birth to her and she is my daughter. Sollux will say the same because it's fucking true. Shit… That was all in Alternian… Eridan."

"Kar." Eridan said firmly. "Drop your glubbin' cussin. You're in a school for fuck sakes." He said, before translating. "Mr. Captor wwould like to inform you that he indeed is her mother, and that even Sol Captor wwould also stand up and say the same." He said simply, looking back at Karkat with a quirked eyebrow.

"Fuck you, Ampora. Fuck you." Karkat said barely even thinking before he continued to speak with Carmine. "What happened?"

"A girl made fun of me becauthe I wath crying in the bathroom."

"What made you cry?"

"Addy."

"What about him?"

"Can Uncle Eridan leave? I don't want him to tell Addy."

"Eridan… Is there somewhere that I can talk to her just us?" Karkat asked. "Actually, I'll talk to her in the car." He sighed, reverting back to English. "What is her punishment? Sollux said something about behavior classes?"

"Yes. We'd like for her to be put into a behavioral modification class. There, she can be monitored by a teaching assistant to make sure she's getting all the things she needs. It's not punishment in the slightest, Mr. Captor, but we'd like for her to be put in a situation where she won't have a need to be violent against other students. If this happens again, we will have to suspend her for a week. We also will be giving her at least an hour a week with Mr. Ampora, to help curb any negative behavior. Is that clear?"

"I would recommend that Addison be present when she talks to Eridan. He's Carmine's only friend…" Karkat said softly. "Is that okay with you, Ampora?"

"That's perfectly fine wwith me." The seadweller replied, a soft sigh escaping his lips.

"We will see what we can do." She said. "For now, I'd like you to take Carmine home. She will be able to return on Friday." She handed him a slip of paper.

"Sollux is going to love this." Karkat sighed, leading his daughter to Michael's car. "Thanks for bringing me out here, Michael. If you could just drop us off at the house..."

"Not a problem." The human male smiled at him.

"Now what happened with Addison that made you cry?" He asked in his native tongue.

"I told him that I love him and he didn't thay it back." Carmine whispered, about to cry again.

"Oh Bumblebee…" Karkat whispered. Maybe his and Feferi's hope of a Matespritship was possible….

"He doethn't love me back…" She whimpered, tears falling again.

"Carmine. Hey… Don't cry… He's still your best friend!" He said softly, holding Carmine's little hand until they got back to the house. Karkat carried Carmine inside and cuddled with her until Sollux got back from Gamzee and Tavros' place.

Sollux ran a hand through his hair, driving home with a grumble. Gamzee was so hard to explain anything to. Everything was all about miracles and how technology was silly. At least Tavros was interesting to talk to. He pulled into the driveway, growling softly. He got out, sighing as he watched an unmarked police car pull in behind him. He narrowed his eyes as a man dressed in a dark suit got out.

Karkat sat on the couch, Carmine in his arms as he whispered sweet words to his little girl. "Sollux, get in here!" He yelled through the window. "Carmine's crying!" He picked her up and carried her to the door, opening it and walking outside.

"Hello Mr. Captor. We have knowledge that there are two psionics living in this house." One of the men said. "We would like to ask you some questions regarding you and your daughter."

Karkat wrapped his arms tighter around his little girl. He was not okay with anyone questioning his daughter.

Sollux frowned. "You can quethtion me, but not her." He said. "If you want to thpeak to a pthionic who hath actual training, then ith me. The ith jutht a child." His voice was firm as he spoke.

"Training? That's what we were going to ask about. I think it would be better to have this discussion inside." The man said.

'Sollux. I don't like this.' Karkat thought, looking at his matesprit. "Bumblebee, I want you to stay in your room until they leave." He whispered to Carmine who simply nodded. He walked over to Sollux, grabbing his hand and leading him inside. "Come in." The group made their way inside. At the bottom of the stairs, Karkat set Carmine down. "Room. I'll come get you when it's safe." He kissed the top of her head.

Sollux sighed, taking a seat on the couch. "What ith it you want to thpeak to me for?" he asked, giving them a quizzical eye.

"The US government has come to realize the power of Psionics like yourself and wish to speak with the Psionic population about possibly having a Psionic Task Force branch added to the military." The man said.

"What does that have to do with Sollux?" Karkat asked, sitting beside him.

"Well, we are hoping that we can do some basic tests to see how strong the psionics of the country are. Would you be willing to do such tests, Mr. Captor?" The man asked.

Karkat looked at Sollux. "What are the tests like?"

"Basic things like range testing and weight lifting. Basic." The other man said softly.

"Bathic?" He asked, "That'th like… Baby work for a pthionic." He said. The men seemed a bit interested in this sudden development.

"What do you mean?" He asked, tilting his head.

"You really have no idea what pthionicth can do, do you?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.

"That's why we want to do tests." The man said. "We want to know what you are capable of."

"Carmine will have no part in it." Karkat said, stern but quiet. "I don't want her anywhere near it."

"And what about Sollux?"

"He can do it if he wants." Karkat shrugged. "I don't control what he does. I'm just his matesprit."

"I'll do it." He frowned. "If it meanth that Carmine will never have to do anything with it, I'll do it."

"I apologize but I can't guarantee that." The man said. "We'll be doing the tests over a course of two days and meals will be provided. Whenever you have a couple days to do the tests, call us a few days in advance and we'll send someone for you."

Karkat nodded, not liking that Sollux was doing the tests but he didn't want Sollux to go away for a night. He hated sleeping without Sollux.

"Tch." Sollux said. "Fine. I'm free the next few nighth if we jutht want to get thith over with." He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Perfect. We're actually flying out to Washington tomorrow. We'll get you a ticket." The man smiled at him.

"Sollux…" Karkat whispered in Alternian. "I don't like this…"

"Wathington?" he blinked. He looked over at Karkat. "I know..."

"Yes Washington." The man said. "That's where headquarters is."

"Oh..." He frowned. "How long would I be gone?" he asked. "I have dutieth to my family to uphold."

"We are leaving at noon tomorrow and it'll only take a few hours to get there. We can start you on the tests after we arrive. We'd have you back by 9 pm the next night."

Sollux looked over at Karkat. "Would... That be alright with you?" he asked, touching his matesprit's leg gently.

Karkat didn't want to be separated from Sollux for any length of time. "I'm just concerned about Carmine getting home before me... We can talk to Eridan and see if he'll watch her until I get off."

"I'm sure he could..." he said, biting his lower lip. "Our daughter who ith only thickth would get home before KK would. We're going to have to figure out if thomeone can watch her."

"That's okay."

"Or I could take the day off... I hardly ever miss work..." Karkat said softly, leaning against Sollux. "I just don't like the idea of you being gone for 24 hours..."

"I know..." he frowned. "It'll be okay. I'll call at thoon ath I get there." he said, frowning. "If you can take the day off, then that would probably be good..."

"Fuck... I forgot... Carmine is out of school until Friday, so I have to take tomorrow off." He said softly, grabbing Sollux's hand.

"The'th out of thchool? Why?" he frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. He turned back to the two men, changing quickly from Alternian to English. "Thorry, talking about family thingth." he said, scratching the back of his head. "KK thinkth he can thtay here with her."

"Then everything is good to go? We will also provide shower supplies." The man smiled. "Thank you for your time." The men stood to leave.

"I'll let her explain after I show them out." Karkat said, getting up.

Sollux nodded. He sighed and got up, going to the kitchen to get a drink of something. He felt overwhelmed.

Karkat showed the two men to the door. After closing the door he yelled for Carmine, who ran down the stairs and hugged Karkat tightly. "I know Bumblebee. Now go tell Daddy what happened."

Carmine nodded against Karkat's shoulder as he walked into the kitchen. "Daddy..."

Sollux turned around, frowning. "What did you do?"

"I thaid thomething to Addy and he didn't thay it back. It made me thad and I thtarted to cry in the bathroom. A girl came in and thtarted to make fun of me tho I hit her..." Carmine said softly, still sobbing. "Why didn't he thay it back?"

Sollux frowned. "Honey..." he said softly, gently touching her cheek. "Hey. Come here." he said, holding his arms out for her.

"He didn't thay it back..." She sobbed, reaching for Sollux.

Karkat handed her over to him. "I'm going to start on dinner. She has to have weekly meetings with Eridan and start a behavior class."

Sollux gently lifted her into his arms, holding her close. "Thhhhh..." he said softly, petting her hair. "Well... It'th not the end of the world. At leatht Eridan can help her."

"Daddy... He doethn't." She whimpered. "Mommy wantth him there when I have to talk to Uncle Eridan."

"He doethn't what honey? What did Addy not thay?" he frowned.

"Carmine told Addison that she loved him and he didn't say it back." Karkat answered.

Sollux looked down at her. "Honey... He probably didn't hear you or thomething..." he said, frowning.

"No... He heard me..." She said softly, rubbing her eyes. "He jutht doethn't love me..."

"That'th not true..." Sollux said, frowning as he leaned against the counter, holding her in his arms. "Really."

"All he thaid wath "Thankth."" She mumbled. "It made me thad..."

"Honey, I'm thure he liketh you jutht fine."

"Have you eaten yet, Sollux?" Karkat asked. "I can make you a little something."

"I haven't." he said, looking back at him. "Bethideth... I have to email my teacherth and pack..." he sighed. "Ugh."

"I'll make you something small to hold you over until dinner. Eridan will be here around 4 to drop off Carmine's homework." He said, getting out ingredients for sandwiches.

"Daddy... Will you cuddle with me?" Carmine asked softly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Sollux nodded. "Thure thing." he said, gently carrying her into the living room.

Carmine settled herself into his lap, gripping his shirt tightly as a few more tears escaped.

"Thhhhh..." he cooed, petting her head gently.

After a few minutes, Karkat walked into the living room with two sandwiches and handed one to Sollux. "Eat." He said softly, sitting beside him.

"What did thothe creepy guyth want, Daddy?" Carmine asked softly.

"They want me to do tethting for my pthionicth." he said, smiling down at her. "Tho I have to go away for a day and I'll be back the nektht day."

"Oh... Okay... Jutht... Come back..." Carmine whimpered.

"I will." he smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I promithe."

"Okay." She whimpered.

"Why would Daddy not come back, Carmine?" Karkat asked, patting her head.

"Becauthe I got into another fight..." Carmine whispered, gripping his shirt tighter.

"Honey... Even if you get into a fight I thtill love you." he held her close. "Really... What maketh you think I don't?"

"Becauthe... I like Addy and he hateth you..." She whimpered.

"Addy hateth me?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. "How come?"

"He jutht doeth... He doethn't know why but he hateth you..."

"I'm... I'm thorry." he sighed. "I had no idea.

"I'm thorry Daddy..." She whispered. "I love you more..."

"Carmine. Daddy isn't going to leave just because you love Addison. He can't stop your feelings." Karkat smiled at her. "Right Sollux?"

"Of courthe." he smiled. "I won't hate you for anything you decide to do. Really."

"Okay." Carmine smiled softly at him before kissing his cheek. "I love you Daddy."

"I love you too."

A couple hours later and the doorbell rang. Karkat went and answered the door. "Hey Eridan. Addison."

Addison walked in, looking rather upset.

"Hey guys." he said, smiling.

"Come in." He smiled.

Carmine sat in her room, drawing a picture of her and Addison.

"Addison, Carmine is in her room if you want to go say hi." He said to the younger Ampora.

Addison nodded, hurrying up the stairs quickly, hands worrying on his shirt. "Hey..." he said, knocking on the door.

"Hi Addy." Carmine smiled, hiding the drawing under a picture of her parents. "How wath clath?"

* * *

><p>"Why is Addison upset, Eridan?" Karkat asked as they went to the living room to sit with Sollux.<p>

"He had a rough afternoon. Some kid wwas makin' fun of his stutter, and he got all upset and stuff. Came cryin' to me before the end of the day. I feel bad for the kid..." he sighed.

"Oh no... Have you thought about speech classes?" Karkat asked. "I've thought about it for Carmine but she likes her lisp, it seems."

"I don't think his stutter is much of a problem." Eridan said simply. "The other kids aren't used to hearin someone wwith an accent I don't think. If it keeps up I'll havve him swwitch classes."

"Yeah." Karkat nodded, cuddling with Sollux.

* * *

><p>"What happened? You were crying..." She got up and went to her friend, hugging him tightly.<p>

"Someone wwas makin' fun of my stutter." he said, rubbing his eyes. "I'll be okay." he said, walking into Carmine's room.

"Oh Addy..." Carmine said softly. "It'th okay now. I'm here."

"I knoww." he said, rubbing his eyes, holding out his arms for a hug. "I'll be alright."

Carmine hugged him tightly, wanting him to feel better. "I drew thomething for you."

"Oh?" he nuzzled her neck.

"Yeah... It'th kinda thtupid though..." She whispered.

"Your drawwin ain't stupid." he said, pulling back.

"Do you want to thee it?" She asked, softly.

"A course!" he smiled.

Carmine smiled shyly as she grabbed the picture from her desk. "Here"

Addison looked at it, eyes wide. "Aww it's a picture of us!" he smiled brightly.

Carmine nodded, sitting down in her chair. She didn't know what to say since she still thought that Addison didn't love her.

"This is reel swweet. Thank you so much." he smiled and walked over to stand by her. "Thank you, Carmine."

"You're welcome, Addy." She smiled softly at him. "I'm glad you like it."

"Wwhat's the matter?" he said, his smile faltering. "You're... Not all excited..."

"Nothing. I got in trouble at thchool and I can't go back until Friday..." She said softly.

"Wwhat happened?" he asked, a frown appearing on his features.

"A girl made fun of me tho I hit her..." She said, looking down at the floor.

"Aww... But..." he frowned. "Wwhat'd she say?"

"She made fun of my lithp..." Carmine lied. She didn't want Addison to know that she was crying because of him.

"I think your lisp is adorabubble." he smiled. "Just. Like. You."

"I'm not adorabubble." Carmine said softly.

"You are too." He pouted, poking her cheek. "You are. Knoww wwhy?"

"I'm not..."

"You are too, Carmine, listen to me..." he pouted, a frown appearing on his already sad looking face. "You are adorable..."

"Do you really think that?" She asked, tears forming in her mismatched eyes.

"A course." he said, letting out a soft sigh. "I wwouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." he said, reaching out. "Aww Carmine don't cry please..."

"I'm thorry..." She whimpered, gripping her skirt. "I'm thorry... I jutht... You..."

"Huh? Did... Did I do somefin?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"You're the only perthon who thinkth that bethideth Mommy and Daddy..." She lied. 'Becauthe you didn't thay it back...'

"Carmine..." he pouted, looking at her with big round grey eyes. "Did... Did I say somefin wwrong?"

"No." She shook her head. "You are tho nithe to me Addy... I don't underthtand why..." She whimpered.

The Ampora boys soon left and the Captors were left alone. Together, they cuddled on the couch. Carmine fell asleep first and Karkat took her to her room before joining Sollux in theirs.

"Sollux... Baby, wakeup." Karkat said softly, shaking Sollux's arm. "You have to wake up. I made you breakfast."

"Nngh..." Sollux rolled over, pushing his face into the pillow, his hair a total mess.

"Come on." Karkat cooed, kissing his cheek softly. "Wake up." He whispered, trailing kisses down his jaw and to his neck. "Sollux."

Sollux moaned softly, shifting. "Nnn... I don't wanna..."

"Baby, please." He whispered, nipping at Sollux neck as he raked hand down his side. Karkat had long discovered that the easiest way to wake Sollux was to give him the promise of something sexual. "We have time before I have to wake Carmine up."

"Nnn... But..." he rolled over, shivering. "You're lying I jutht know it..."

"You could change that if you really want to and we both know it. Besides, everything is already packed and there is an hour and a half before I have to wake up Carmine so she can hug you before you leave." He said softly. "It doesn't have to be a lie."

"Nnn." he rolled over. "You're lying to me. You alwayth do when you want me to get up." he grumbled, rolling over, trying to grab hold of Karkat.

He didn't move away like he normally did because they did have time if he really wanted to and Karkat knew he wouldn't stop him. "I'm not lying."

Sollux pulled him close, nuzzling his lover's face. "Nnn... Kith me... Thath all I want right now." he said softly.

Karkat kissed him gently, wrapping his arms around Sollux's waist. "I love you." He whispered, pulling back. "I'm going to miss you..."

"Ith only a day..." he said, curling up into Karkat's arms. "Nnn... ED ith giving me a ride to the airport... I'm thuppothed to meet thothe guyth there..." he said, shivering. "Nnnn... I hope it'th not gonna be bad or nothin."

"You've been calling Eridan a lot, haven't you?" Karkat laughed. "You're starting to speak like him." He kissed his matesprit's nose. "I don't care that it's only a day. I miss you when I go to work and that's only a few hours a day. Same for when you are at school." He whispered. "I don't like being away from you..."

"Oh co-" He stopped. "Thorry. ED ith rubbing off on me." he rubbed his eyes. "I know you don't like being away from me." he said, purring against him. "Nnnnn... You're warm."

"I think it's cute. I had to fight to not talk like Gamzee for the first 2 sweeps of our Moirailallegiance." He laughed. "You know, you say that almost every time we cuddle?"

"Well you are warm." he replied, snuggling against him, placing soft kisses on his jaw and neck. "I'm going to mith you tho much."

"Sollux..." Karkat whimpered, his breath catching in his throat. "I love you."

"Love you too." he said, wrapping his arms tightly around him, holding him close.

"I wish you didn't have to go..." He said softly, kissing him again.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Carmine screamed from her room.

Karkat sighed, closing his eyes. "I'll go check on Bumblebee."

Sollux frowned, reaching out, grabbing hold of his arm. "Aww... Okay..." he said. He pulled away from Karkat gently, curling up against his pillow once more.

Karkat when into their daughter's room. "Yes Carmine?"

"I had a nightmare..." She said softly, holding onto her bee and crab. "Daddy wath being chathed by culling droneth..." She whimpered.

"It's okay Carmine." Karkat said softly, pulling her into his arms. "Do you want to go cuddle with Daddy?"

Carmine nodded, wrapping her little arms around Karkat's neck as he walked over to their bedroom.

"Carmine had a nightmare about you, Sollux." He said as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Sollux had fallen back asleep, curled around his pillow, breathing softly.

Carmine crawled over to her father and cuddled up to him.

"I'll come wake you two in an hour." He said, kissing the top of her head.

Sollux wrapped his arms around her in his sleep, his face against her hair.

Carmine fell back asleep in her father's arms.

Karkat smiled as he watched his bees cuddle. He went back downstairs, making a fresh pot of coffee before sitting with a glass at the table. Time ticked by and soon enough he had to go wake the psionics up.

Sollux's phone, which was on the nightstand, was buzzing and ringing. Eridan was calling him. On the display screen a picture of Eridan that Carmine had drawn, along with a ridiculous stupid sounding Scottish drinking song that surely Eridan had picked out.

Karkat laughed, hearing the phone. He picked it up. "Good morning Eridan. I was just about to wake Sollux and Carmine."

"Ah thank ye." A very tired Eridan said. "He told me to givve him a wwake up call, so I did." he said. "I'm glad someone else wwas gonna help. He's so difficult..."

"He is." He smiled. "I'm used to waking his lazy ass up though. I'm going to let you go. Drink some coffee. I'll have Captor ready before you get here."

"Alright." Eridan hung up.

Karkat picked Carmine up and set her on the pillows before crawling on the bed to wake Sollux up. He started to shake him gently, telling him softly that he needed to get up.

Sollux grumbled softly, stirring lightly. "Nnn..."

Karkat raised his voice slightly as he started to shake Sollux harder. "Wake up."

"Alright, alright." he peeled himself away from his pillow, sitting up, rubbing his eyes. "Nngh..."

"I love you." He whispered, leaning down and kissing his matesprit before waking the youngest Captor. "Daddy has to go now, Bumblebee."

"Okay..." She yawned, laying against Karkat.

Sollux got out of bed, going into the bathroom to shower quickly, wrapping a towel around his hips, going downstairs for coffee.

Karkat sat the coffee cup on the table just as Sollux sat down. "Do you want bacon or sausage?"

"Bacon..." he muttered, getting his coffee.

Karkat made up a plate of bacon, eggs and honey pancakes and set it on the table. "Want anything else?"

"Nope." he said, going and sitting down, starting to eat quietly.

"Okay." He smiled, sitting down to start on his own breakfast but the food didn't smell right. "Sollux, does everything taste alright?"

"Yeah." he said, sipping his coffee. "Tathteth great." he said, smiling.

"Oh okay." He said softly, looking down at his plate.

"Why?" he asked, tilting his head. "Ith there thomething wrong with it?" he asked softly.

"It just smells weird to me..." He said softly. "It's fine though."

"Ah, okay." he said softly. He finished eating quickly, He got up, placing a soft kiss on Karkat's head as he went upstairs to get dressed.

Karkat ate slowly, hoping that it wasn't his stomach that was making the food taste and smell strange. "I hope I'm not sick again. Wait... Fuck... Sollux!"

"Huh?" he looked over at him from the staircase. "Huh?" he asked, blinking.

"I have a doctor's appointment today at 4 to check my blood. Can you remind Eridan?" He asked.

"Yeah." he said, yawning. "Thure thing." he said. He went upstairs, getting out some comfortable clothing to wear, pulling on some pants and a plain shirt. He pulled on his jacket. He walked back downstairs. "Nngh. I'm tired..."

Karkat stood at the bottom, Carmine in one arm and the other held out to hug his matesprit. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." he said, kissing him gently. "I'll be really thafe." He said. "I promithe."

Karkat kissed him back. "I know. Don't overwork yourself. I'll have dinner ready for you when you get back."

He smiled and pet his hair. "Alright. I'll call you ath thoon ath I get there." he said, petting his hair. "I promithe." He quickly went to go get his bag and pillow, carrying it down the stairs, putting them by the door. He waited for Eridan.

Karkat and Carmine hugged Sollux tight while they waited for Eridan. "I love you. Can I have a kiss?"

"Yes of courthe." he smiled, gently kissing him deeply, pushing him against the wall carefully.

"Daddy... I'm thtill here..." Carmine said, shifting in Karkat's arms.

"Aww honey..." He smiled a little bit, pouting his lips. "I love you honey."

"I love you too Daddy. Mommy, thet me down and you two can keep doing that." She smiled.

Karkat nodding, laughing softly. "If you say so, Carmine."

"Can I have a hug firtht?" He smiled, holding out his arms.

Carmine smiled and nodded, hugging around her father's waist. "I love you Daddy."

"I love you too. I'll bring you guyth back thomething okay?" he smiled and purred, petting her hair.

"Okay!" She giggled. "Now kith Mommy tho he doethn't cry."

He nodded, wrapping his arms tightly round Karkat, kissing him deeply, his hands tangling in his hair as Eridan pulled into the drive way.

Karkat kissed him back, meeting Sollux's tongue with his own as they were pushed together.

Carmine let this continue from another moment before telling them that Eridan had pulled in.

Sollux pulled back, touching Karkat's head, kissing him once more before grabbing his things.

"Don't forget to call us..." He whimpered, lips still tingling from the kiss. "I'll miss you..."

"I won't forget to call. I'll call ath thoon ath I land." he said, smiling. He kissed Karkat once more, letting this kiss linger for just a bit. "I won't be gone ath long ath you were in Franthe." he said softly. "It will be okay."

"I know..." Karkat stole one more kiss. "Get going so you can come home quicker."

"Alright." He smiled, heading out the door.

The next several hours were long and tiresome. Sollux traveled to the airport, boarded the plane not without several strange looks, muttered comments.

The two men that had visited the Captor house stood with a sign saying, "Sollux Captor" in Alternian.

Sollux approached them once arriving. "You know, I can read Englith jutht fine." he said, shrugging. "Eathy to tell who I'm going to." he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"We figured this would be better." One of them said. "Let's go."

Sollux followed along with them, rolling his suitcase behind him, his pillow clutched under his arm.

"It'll take about two hours to get to base." The other informed him. "If you are hungry then we have some snacks in the car."

"Alright." He said, half rolling his eyes. This whole thing seemed rather silly.

They all got into the car and drove to the base in the middle of the forest. Once they arrived, the two men ushered Sollux into the training facility. "We'll let you eat before we start the tests."

"Thankth." Sollux said, scratching the back of his head. He had busied himself playing games on his DS from the trip. He yawned upon getting out of the car, rubbing his eyes. "Who wrote the note with my name on it? Alternian ith hard to write..." he said softly.

"There are trolls that work for us. They don't really leave base often because they don't like to." One of the men said. "I think the highest blood here is a blue blood."

"Blueblood? Huh..." he shrugged. "Cool I gueth. I don't really care about the cathte thythtem anymore, tho..."

"Oh. We were under the impression that all trolls cared about it..." The men looked at each other. "Oh well. You have about an hour before the tests will start. First is the IQ test."

"Alright." He said, shrugging. "Food? Yeah?" he shrugged his shoulders, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"The cafeteria is that way. There are signs if you get lost." One of the men pointed in a direction. "We'll come to get you when we start."

"Alright." he said, sauntering down the hall into the cafeteria. He sighed softly, going up to the counter.

"Sollicks?" Nepeta asked. "It's been such a long time!"

"Wh..." He looked up, his eyes going wide. "Nepeta? Really?" He blinked. "W-Wow... Why are you here?"

"Equius got a job here so we moved." She smiled at him. "How is Karkitty?"

"KK ith amathing. We have a kid now. Carmine Captor. The'th a thionic like me." he smiled brightly. "Tho EQ workth here too?"

"That's amazing! Yeah. He's an officerrr." She smiled, rolling her r's. "He leads the 5th platoon."

"That'th really awethome." he smiled. "Whath good to eat?" he asked, digging in his wallet for some money to buy lunch.

"They have really good chicken nuggets..." She said softly. "Nothing else that is great but they won't let me cook..."

"Ah, I'll have them then." he said.

"Okay!" She smiled, putting some on a plate and handing it to him. "I can give you more if you want."

"Thith ith fine." he smiled. "Thankth. How much I owe you?" he asked. "Can I get a drink too?"

"It's 5 dollars even." She smiled. "It's included in the meal. What would you like?"

"Alright." He got out a five dollar bill. "Uhhh..." he pouted his lip out a bit. "Nnnn... Uh... Coke?"

"Okay!" She smiled, handing him the chilled bottle.

"Thankth.." He smiled, going to take a seat, eating quietly. He sighed softly, sipping the coke, trying to eat slowly to not upset his stomach.

Nepeta clocked out and went over to Sollux. "How is Karkitty dealing with you being here? How long are you here for?"

"He'th upthet ath uthual, but, I have nothing to do about that." he said, frowning. "And I'm here until they're done running tethth on me I gueth."

"What type of tests are they doing?" She asked.

"IQ and pthionic tethting I think..." Sollux replied, shrugging. "Who knowth."

"That's interesting... That explains all the psionics that have been running around recently." She sighed. "Equius won't let me leave the base so that's why I work here."

"Ahhhh... Why won't he let you leave? Ith he thtill really controlling of you?" he frowned.

"He's always been like that Sollicks." She laughed. "He saw how people treated us in high school and he wasn't happy about it."

"Yeah..." he shrugged. "I'm glad he did thomething with hith thweaty thelf." he said, shrugging his shoulders, finishing the last of his meal.

"Mr. Captor. We're ready for you." The man said as he approached Sollux.

Sollux waved to Nepeta. "Thee you later maybe. Thend me an email or thomething." he said as he tossed his garbage, slinging his bag over his shoulder, following the man.

The man lead Sollux to a room that looked a lot like a classroom.

Sollux looked around, frowning. It was there that he was set down with a test. "Gueth thith ith the IQ tetht? How long do I have?" he asked.

"Two hours for 200 hundred questions." He replied, gesturing to a desk. "Sit and I'll get the materials."

"Gah... Alright..." he said, sitting down. This felt stupid. He sighed, shaking his head as he sat down, leaning his head on his hand.

The man brought over the packet and a pencil. "Begin." He said as he set it down.

Sollux frowned and began.

An hour and a half passed and the test was done. He put the pencil down on the desk, sighing. "Done."

"Okay. Go outside and they'll start on the range test."

Sollux nodded, picking up his things, walking outside. He sighed quietly. There were several targets far and near. He puffed up his cheeks, approaching the military officer standing there.

"Hello Mr. Captor. This is a range test. Self-explanatory, I know but I have to explain the procedure." The man sighed. "Pick up the stones, one by one and aim for the targets."

"Alright. Doeth it really have to be one by one? I can... Well... I can do all of them at onthe really." he said, blinking.

"Procedure says one by one. Sorry." He sighed. "Every psionic has told me that..."

"Thothe of uth who've had training can do that." he said. One by one he tossed the rocks with his powers. This was cake. He hit even the furthest ring dead in the center.

"Pass. Not like we didn't see that coming. You're next test is an endurance test. We can start now or tomorrow. Up to you." The man shrugged his shoulders as he led Sollux to the endurance area. This area was covered in stones of various sizes.

"How long will it take?" he asked. "I feel pretty good right now." he said, "but i want to know how long."

"However long until you pass out." The man said. "Or until we run out of stones."

"Well... Then I'll go ahead and do it now then." he said, shrugging.

"Okay. I'm sure you know this too. You are to pick up the smallest stones and make them circle you. In an hour, I'll tell you to pick up the next stone and it continues like that."

"Got it." he said, going to stand in the circle. Within moments he picked up all the small stones and began circling them around him. He closed his eyes, hovering just slightly off the ground as he let his power course through him.

"They have to be waist level." The man yelled.

"Fine fine..." he said, letting them sink down to his waist. "I'm uthed to going higher, but alright." He maintained the stones around his waist, feeling like he wasn't even using his powers at all. He sighed softly, yawning. Boring.

"I would say that you can go ahead and lift the next one but my superior is over there watching so I can't... Sorry." He said softly. "Mind if I ask you some questions? My girlfriend is a troll..."

"Thure, thoot." he said, his eyes glassing over, solid colors, the powers streaming down from his eyes filling his hands.

"Well... We've been dating for about a year now and she keeps talking about black rom... She's explained to me what it is but I just don't know if she'd get mad if I tell her that I don't want her to have that..." He sighed softly. "How would you react?"

"Well... I've had a few kithmethith... My matethprit hateth it... And I feel bad now that I don't have to deal with culling droneth and thtuff." he shrugged his shoulders a little bit, keeping the speed up on the stones. "Dependth on how clothe you are."

"Well, I've tried to explain that it's not how human relationships are... I can't bring myself to tell her that it's because it makes me feel like I'm not good enough." The man said softly. "Should I feel like that?"

"Gog, Trollth are complicated." Sollux muttered. "I mean, Trollth think in quadrantth... You can't really change that." he said, shrugging again.

"But doesn't wanting someone else, even if it is because you hate them, pretty much telling the one you love that they aren't good enough or is that just a human thing?" He asked.

"Probably jutht a human thing. Matethprith are really intheperable." he said, clicking his tongues gently against the roof of his mouth.

"She won't use that word with me..." He said softly. "Should I be worried? I mean, I know I'm human but I've been in love with her since high school..."

"Man, I'm thit at giving relationthip advithe. I'm thorry." he frowned. "I gueth I uthe that term becauthe my matethprit ith a troll...I thuppothe thath it."

"Well, thanks for your opinion and I really do mean that... I guess the only way to know is to talk to her..." He smiled softly. "Her name is Aradia..."

"AA?! I know her" He kept the stones circling, a smile growing on his features. "Thath tho cool oh wow I haven't heard from her in forever."

"She works in the morgue across town. What's your name?" He asked. "I was just told to do the tests..."

"Tholluckth." He replied simply. "I went to thcool with her. "

"I think I've heard about you. Do you know someone named Karkat?" He asked. "She talks about him a lot."

"KK? Yeah, that'th my matethprit."

"Oh wow... She told me that he was an angry little asshole." He laughed. "Next stone."

"He ith." He quickly picked up the next stone, one much larger than the previous ones, his concentration struggling, circulating it.

"I'm going to stop talking so you can concentrate."

Sollux nodded. He focused simply on keeping the rocks afloat.

The man sat for the next few hours, telling Sollux to lift the next stone when the time came. "We have 6 more stones left."

Sollux kept his mouth shut, keeping them going.

"Next."

Sollux picked up the next one, with a little bit of strain. He cringed ever so slightly, picking up the next set.

"Wow... This is the furthest I've seen anyone get to." The man said softly. "This is amazing."

Soon it was called forth for the next, and the next. He was in a state of sheer concentration. He shivered, a breeze blowing by. Soon he was to the second to last rock.

"Holy shit... I didn't know this was even possible." The guy said as he watched.

"30 minutes for that one... And 15 for the last." The superior said, watching him. "He doesn't even look tired."

"No. He even talked with me for the first 3 stones!"

"Hmm..." the man said, looking at Sollux. "Next stone. 30 minutes." Sollux mindlessly picked it up, struggling slightly, it slowly settling into the rest.

The soldier watched in awe as Sollux circled the stones around him. About 11 minutes in, he noticed yellow blood running down the troll's face. "Boss... He's bleeding."

"If it gets any worse, make him stop."

Slowly the minutes clicked by. 30 minutes passed slowly, and Sollux picked up the largest rock. He strained, the psionics flashing brighter as he lifted it, circulating it around.

He watched, worrying about the troll's health. He looked down at the clock, watching the seconds tick by. 10 minutes dragged by. "Can you go for 5 more minutes?" He whimpered, watching blood trail down Sollux's cheeks like tears.

Sollux opened his eyes, which had been closed for a long time now. He cringed, one more minute passed by.

Suddenly he dropped all the rocks, collapsing in the middle, panting quietly. His hands shook violently.

"Boss! He's done!" He yelled as he ran over to the psionic. "I can't believe you had all of them up for that long..."

Sollux kept his eyes closed, panting, breathing softly. "Y-Yeah..." he said, wiping the blood from his face with the back of his hand. "I'm okay... Jutht..." he groaned, sitting up, holding the sides of his head. "Headache..."

"Do you want some medicine?" He asked softly.

"Not right now." he said softly, coughing, hiding the blood that he had coughed up.

"Okay. Let's get you to your room so you can rest." The man said, offering a hand to Sollux.

Sollux shifted, taking his hand, standing. "Alright..." he muttered, sniffling, wishing his nose wasn't bleeding.

"There is a shower in your room." He said idly.

"That'th alright." he said, shifting. "Nnnn..." He felt a bit sick, but he knew that was mostly because of his headache. He shifted, looking at him, his eyes finally changing back to what they were.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked. "I've never seen anyone that strong before..."

"I'll be fine." Sollux answered shortly.

"You're definitely the strongest psionic in America." He laughed as they walked to Sollux's room.

Heh, I knew that. Sollux thought to himself. "My dad wath the thtrongetht." he said, shrugging. "I wath trained ath a thionic fighter." he said. "Or thomething like that."

"That's amazing." He said softly.

Sollux panted softly. "Can I retht now?" he asked, sniffing a little bit, still tasting blood in his mouth.

"Sorry. I'll leave you alone to rest." The man smiled at him as he left the bedroom.

Sollux went to the bathroom, quickly showering, trying to rid his body of the blood and grime on his skin. He sighed, feeling clean once more, dressing in loose clothes before calling Karkat.

Karkat groggily answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey." Sollux's voice was weak. "Did I wake you?"

"Yeah but it's fine. You didn't call when you got there..." He said softly, clutching the bee plushy tighter.

"I had no time." He said. "I wanted to, but I went in for IQ tetht and then into the enduranthe tetht which I jutht finithed."

"And I bet you beat the fuck out of those tests." He laughed. "By the way, Carmine drew a picture for you."

"Did thee?" he smiled. "I'm thure I did... I'm jutht exhauthted..." he said, rubbing his eyes. "I hurt everywhere."

"I bet. You just used your psionics for hours on end..." Karkat said softly. "I miss you..."

"I mith you too." he said. "I'm going to go to thleep..." He said, yawning. "I... Haven't thlept yet."

"Baby." Karkat sighed. "I love you."

"I love you too." he said, rubbing his eyes. "I'll call you when I can okay?"

"Okay. Night, Love." He smiled hanging up the phone.

Sollux closed his phone and curled up in bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

Karkat fell back asleep, happy to have heard his matesprit's voice.

Several hours passed. Sollux was woken up by an officer at the door, knocking rather loudly.

"Nnn..." Sollux rolled over, putting his glasses on before he started getting ready quickly. Obviously they needed him for something.

"We'll be leaving for the airport in a couple hours. Please pack your things and be in the cafeteria by then." The man said.

"Alright." he said, picking up everything and shoving it back in his suitcase. He was exhausted. He headed out of his room with everything, his eyes looking rather sullen behind his glasses.

"Good afternoon Sollux." The rust blooded troll says softly, seeing her friend for the first time in about a year. "How are you?"

"AA!" He looked up, a smile gracing his features. "Ith been literally forever, how are you?"

"I'm well. My boyfriend told me that you were here so I thought I would pay you a visit." She smiled softly at him. "How are you?"

"I'm well... Well... Tired." he said, his posture slumping. "I had to take an endurance tetht latht night." he said. "Didn't thleep very well."

"They are testing psionics?" She asked. "I had no idea..."

"I... Don't really know why." he said. "I think they thaid thomething about building a force of pthionicth for thomething."

"That's strange." Aradia said quietly. "How is Karkat? Are you two still together?"

"We are." he said, smiling. "We've got a wriggler too. Her name ith Carmine. The'th really adorable."

"That's so sweet." She smiled. "I bet he is a great mother to the child."

"He ith." he smiled. "I mith him."

"Are you going back?" She asked, moving a little closer to him.

"Yeth." he said, smiling. "Ith been a really long time thince I've theen you. You haven't changed at all."

"That's what Michael says... We met back in high school." Aradia smiled softly. "It's weird dating a human but he's sweet and I really like him."

"I'm happy for you." he said, smiling. "He wath talking to me latht night while I wath taking the tetht. He theemth pretty cool."

"He is. We both share a fascination with death." She laughed. "He has been seeming upset lately though and I wonder if it is something I caused."

"Hm..." Sollux shrugged. "I dunno. He wath talking about a kithmethith... I didn't think you were the kind to have one of them."

"Oh that. I work with a girl that I can't stand and it would be close to a Kismesis, if she were a troll." Aradia clarified. "I have no intentions of having a Kismesis."

"Ahhhh." Sollux said. "You might wanna tell him that." he said, shifting his pillow under his arm.

"Oh. Did he say something to you?" She asked, tilting her head.

"He wath rather... Contherned." he said, frowning. "I think it'll be okay though." he nodded.

"Thank you for the advice Sollux. Are things going well with Karkat?" She asked. "Terezi told me that she was worried about the two of you."

"Oh... Ath far ath I'm aware thingth are fine." he blinked at her, stifling a yawn with his hand.

"Then I guess it was just a speculation on Terezi's part." She sighed softly. "It seemed like it might have been a big deal."

"It may have been... I don't know. I think the'th probably jutht tharing old newth."

"Well she said that he was looking into human ways of commitment. She proceeded to say that though he sounded happy as he spoke that his eyes said that he was upset about something." Aradia said. "She is worried that he still believes that he isn't good enough."

"Oh..." Sollux blinked. "Wow... I... Wow..." He looked down at his feet. "Well... He'th my matethprit... He'th good enough. I wouldn't have anyone elthe."

"Maybe you should reiterate that, just so it is clear to him. You know how fragile Karkat really is under his badass leader persona."

"I know. He'th really delicate." he smiled. "Only I really thee thith."

"Well, I'm going to get out of here. I have to be at work in an hour. It was nice seeing you Sollux." She smiled, waving softly as she walked away.

Sollux smiled and watched her go with a small wave. He headed to the Cafeteria, plopping down in a chair.

"Mr. Captor. We're almost ready to go to the airport. Are you ready?" A man asked. "We will be processing your test results within the week."

"I'm ready." he replied, yawning big.

Soon, they all made their way to the airport, seeing Sollux off on his plane ride.

* * *

><p>Karkat sat on the couch, Carmine on his lap. "I wonder when he'll get home..." He whispered.<p>

"He'll be home thoon, Mommy. And he'll be ekthited to thee you and to know that you are doing well." She smiled.

* * *

><p>Sollux had fallen asleep on the plane, grumbling as they landed a few hours later. He called Eridan, who came and picked him up. Sollux asked him to stop somewhere. Sollux picked up a couple of things, and before he knew it, he was back at home, standing at the door his suitcase in hand, a bunch of flowers in the other.<p>

Karkat had fallen asleep on the couch until Carmine started screaming about Sollux being home. In a daze, he got up and went to the door, opening it and finding Sollux standing there with a bouquet of roses. "Sollux..." He whimpered his eyes wide. "What are these for?"

"For you of courthe." he smiled, holding his arms open.

Karkat took a step forward. "I don't understand... Why did you get me flowers?" He asked softly as he wrapped his arms around his lover.

"Thothe are pretty!" Carmine giggled, running over to Eridan and hugging his leg. "Hi Uncle Eridan."

"I love you, that'th why." he said, wrapping his arms around Karkat tightly. "I love you tho much."

"Hey there." Eridan smiled, leaning down to pick her up.

"I love you too." He whimpered, close to tears. Sollux never did sweet things like this for him and it made him extremely happy. "I love you so much, Sollux."

"How ith Addy?" She asked, wrapping her arms around Eridan's neck. "I think I should thtay with you and Aunt Feferi tonight..."

Eridan smiled. "Addy is good. Go inside and get your thins. You're gonna come stay wwith us tonight okay?" he smiled.

Sollux kissed his cheek. "I love you." he said. "I got a bit of thleep on the plane. Lemme go put thethe into thome water."

"Okay!" Carmine smiled, running inside and up to her room to get her things. A few minutes later she returned with a small bag and her two favorite plushies in her arms. "I'm ready!"

"Where are you going Carmine?" Karkat asked.

"Over to Uncle Eridan'th houthe. You two need time." She smiled.

Karkat turned a bright red. "Carmine!"

The little troll let out a giggle. "I love you Mommy. Have fun!"

Sollux laughed a little bit. "I'll be by to pick you up in the morning okay, Carmine?" he said, after he had put the flowers into some water. He set the vase on the table.

Eridan smiled, waving at the two of them before taking off towards his place.

Karkat stood in the doorway, waving as he watched the car drive off. "Well that was random." He sighed softly. He smiled as he felt Sollux's arms snake around his waist. "I missed you."

"I mithed you too. I thocked the hell out of them. I lifted ALL the rockth." he smiled, burrowing his face in the crook of Karkat's neck.

"That's because you are amazing." He smiled, slipping his fingers between Sollux's. "Thank you for the flowers. It was sweet of you to do that."

"You're welcome. I got Carmine a little thomething from the airport. It'th in my bag." he smiled, pulling Karkat back into the house, shutting the door gently.

"What did you get her?" He asked, allowing Sollux to move him.

"Jutht a little thtuffed animal. They didn't have any beeth or crabth, tho I found jutht another cute animal. A cat I think."

"You're being awfully sweet." Karkat smiled, leaning against him. "I like it."

"I feel... Like I'm not being romantic enough." He said, frowning.

"But you're not a romantic person and I'm okay with that." He smiled, turning around in his arms. "I don't want you to be anyone but you because that's who I fell in love with."

"I know." he leaned in, gently kissing him. "I love you." He gently pulled Karkat close, holding him.

"I love you too." He smiled, leaning his head against Sollux's chest, listening to his heartbeat. "By the way, I went to the doctor earlier for my checkup. He said that I'm fine and that there is nothing wrong with my blood."

"Wonderful." he smiled, gently swaying. "We thould go dancing." he said, swaying to silent music.

"You don't like to dance." Karkat laughed softly, swaying with Sollux. He moved his arms so they draped over the taller troll's shoulders.

"Meh.." He said, smiling, kissing the top of his head. "I don't mind it." he said, holding him gently, swaying with him. "It'th thomething I wouldn't mind if it wath with you."

"That was cute." Karkat smiled, closing his eyes and just enjoying the moment. "Sollux, we should go on a date..."

"We thould. Where to?" he asked, lacing his fingers around Karkat's back.

"I don't care." He whispered. "I just want to go on a date." He slipped his hands down so they were resting on his chest.

"Hmmm... It'th kinda nice out. A little cold, but... We could manage going to the park? Maybe a walk through the park?"

"That sounds nice." He smiled, pulling slightly away from Sollux. "I'm stealing your hoodie."

"Thath fine." he smiled. "I've got another thomewhere."

Together they got ready, heading out to the park. Sollux smiled, taking Karkat's hand gently, walking along the path.

Karkat couldn't help but smile. This was definitely more romantic than he had ever thought that Sollux could be. He loved how large Sollux's hoodie was on him and how it made him feel small and safe. "Have I ever told how much I enjoy just being with you?" He asked softly, entwining his fingers with Sollux's.

"I'm thure you have before." he said softly, smiling. "Ith really nithe out today." he said, looking up at the sky. "Mmmm..."

"It is." He smiled, walking slowly with his matesprit. "Look! There's ice cream!" Karkat pointed toward the stand.

"Let'th go then." he smiled, pulling out his wallet.

"Remember our first date? We did the same thing." He smiled up at Sollux.

"Yup!" he said, smiling. "I remember that very well." He walked up to the stand. "What do you want KK?"

"Anything." He said softly, leaning against him. "Just get me whatever."

"Two chocolate coneth pleathe." The man handed them the two ice cream cones, and took Sollux's money. He smiled, and bowed his head to the man, turning and handing Karkat his cone.

"Thanks, Love." Karkat smiled, taking his cone.

The pair continued to walk down the path a bit. Sollux licked at his ice cream cone a bit, looking over at Karkat to make sure he was doing okay. "Mmmm..." he smiled. "Wanna thit by the water? There'th a bench down there."

"That sounds fun." He said before lick his ice cream. "This is good."

Sollux walked down the bank a bit, sitting down on the bench, smiling.

Karkat followed him. "Look at the river!" He said, his eyes wide with awe. "That's so cool!"

"It ith!" He smiled. He leaned back against the back of the bench, holding the ice cream cone in one hand, his other hand lacing fingers with Karkat's.

Karkat scooted a little closer to Sollux, a soft smile on his face. He stole a glance at Sollux, something he did a lot in school on Alternia.

"Hmm?" he purred, looking at him with happy eyes. "Thomething ith on your mind."

"You. As always." He smiled, putting his head on his shoulder.

"Hehe." he smiled, running a hand through his hair, smiling.

"What's on your mind?"

"You." His answer was simple and true, but there was something deeper. He was thinking about what Aradia had told him.

"What about me?" He asked playfully. He didn't really expect an answer but he felt like flirting.

"A lot of thingth really." he said. "How I love you, and how you mean the world to me."

"Can I get some nachos with that cheese?" He laughed. "That was cute. You get brownie points. They are redeemable for kisses."

"Hahahaha." Sollux chuckled lightly, closing his eyes and in taking a long breath of air. "Everything I thaid ith true."

"I know but that doesn't make it any less cheesy." He grinned. "You've changed a lot in the last couple sweeps. In a good way."

"Really?" he asked, reaching out to touch his face. "How tho?"

"You aren't as cold. You don't care about people knowing that we are together." He smiled brightly. "You suggested having another grub after years of swearing that you would never father one." Karkat laughed. "You say more sweet things and do random cute things, like get me flowers."

"People change." he said softly. "And... And I'm trying to be a good matethprit." he said, looking away. "I want to make up for all the bad thingth I've done."

"You're an amazing matesprit. You always have been." He said softly. "I'm the luckiest fucking troll ever. Not only is my matesprit hot as hell and powerful, he's also sweet and caring."

"Awww..." Sollux felt a blush rise to his cheeks. "You are too. You care about me."

"I do." He said softly, cheeks a light pink. "Matter of fact. I love you."

"Aww, I do too." he said, gently reaching over to touch his cheek. "Tho much."

Karkat was glad that they had both finished their ice creams as he leaned into the touch. "Are you really okay with possibly having another grub? I know you were the one who suggested it but... I feel like it's because of me that you want that."

"Really. I'm fine." he smiled. "I want to find a good job though... I want to be able to provide tho when you have to thtop working for the time you're carrying... I want to be able to do what I can."

"I'm sure you'll find one but you probably have a while..." He sighed. "I was talking to Feferi earlier and she wouldn't stop talking about how cute I would look. It was awkward..."

"I think you will look cute." he smiled. "I hope ith thoon. I feel like I don't do enough for you... Really..."

"You do a lot for me. You take care of Carmine while I do what I love." He said softly, looking at Sollux with nothing but love in his eyes. "You make me so happy."

"I'm glad." he closed his eyes. I never want to hurt you again, he thought, his chest filling with emotion.

Karkat turned to face him, giving him a soft, sweet kiss. "I love you Sollux and I'm happy to be a Captor." He smiled.

"I love you too." he said softly, purring against Karkat's lips. "Want to head home?"

"Sure." He nodded before kissing him again. "I want to cuddle."

"Thame." he smiled into the kiss, his hand touching Karkat's cheek. He stood, extending his hand to Karkat.

He smiled as he took Sollux's hand. "I've decided that I might be okay with being a princess... As long as you're my prince."

Sollux cracked a grin. "And you think I'M cheethy?" he laughed and pulled him close. "Let'th head home."

"I'm the romantic one and you're the sexy one. I thought this was understood!" He giggled, wrapping an arm around Sollux's waist as they walked.

The pair headed back to their home, hands entwined. Sollux smiled, unlocking the door, walking inside with a brisk walk, pulling Karkat close. "Mmmm..."

Karkat smiled, wrapping his arms around Sollux. "Cuddle?"

"Yeth." he said, moving them to the couch, pulling Karkat down over top of him, holding him close. "Mine."

"Always." He grinned, curling up with his matesprit. He put his ear above Sollux's heart, listening to it beat. Oh the cheesy things he could say.

He kissed the top of his head. "Love you." he whispered, his hands slipping into Karkat's hair.

"I love you too." He said softly, letting Sollux's heartbeat vibrate through him.

Sollux hummed softly, relaxing. He knew his heartbeat was slowing down the more he relaxed. "You look comfy."

"Well, you're here and that makes me feel better." He said, tracing little hearts above his.

"Aww..." he ran his fingers through Karkat's hair gently, his fingers gently brushing against Karkat's horns on accident.

Karkat gasped a little at the accidental touch. "Sollux..." He whimpered, his finger stopping.

"W... Thorry." he moved his hand away, moving them to Karkat's back instead.

"It's okay." He said softly, letting himself be calmed again by the steady beat coming from within his matesprit. "I could be really cheesy and say that my heart beats only for you."

Sollux chuckled. "That wath really lame." he smiled. "Really... But that'th okay." he kissed the top of Karkat's head. "I'm glad it doeth."

Karkat felt the familiar rumble in his chest, signifying that he was purring. 'I haven't purred in a long time...'

Sollux rubbed his hands over his back, trying to get Karkat to purr louder. "It hath been a while hathn't it?"

Karkat let himself fully relax, the purring getting a little louder. It felt weird but he knew that Sollux liked his purr so he didn't mind it anymore.

Sollux felt lulled to sleep. He too started purring, the low buzzing sound vibrating against Karkat's chest. He pulled him closer, smiling.

Carefully, he snuggled up in the arms of his love. He was happy and warm as he felt Sollux purr beneath him. "I want you forever." He whispered before falling asleep.

Sollux felt exhausted. He fell asleep quickly, his hands wrapping gently around Karkat as he breathed evenly, his whole body warm.

Karkat woke up a few hours later, shifting slightly as he stirred. "Sollux?" He whispered as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. The screen read 6:30 am. He sighed before realizing what day it was. Softly, he smiled seeing that it was there anniversary. "I wonder if he knows..."

Sollux stirred lightly, opening his eyes, looking at him. "Mmmm... Hey."

"Good morning. Want to move to the room?" Karkat asked softly.

"Nnn yeah." he said, gently nuzzling against him. "Nnn... I don't want to move though, you're tho warm..."

"Well, you are the world's strongest psionic, Sollux." He laughed, keeping it soft.

"Nnnn thtill..." he said, holding him. "That taketh effort."

"You're silly." He smiled, snuggling against him.

"Mmm." He used his powers, gently lifting both of them up the stairs into the bedroom. He was thankful for this as he pulled Karkat close, taking in his warmth.

"It's good that you lifting us like that doesn't freak me out anymore." He said softly, feeling sleep take over again. "I'm so tired and you are the world's best cuddle-bug."

"Aww." he said, gently kissing his cheek. "Mmm... You thmell good."

Karkat fell back asleep shortly. He was happy to have his matesprit home. His dreams wandered into Sollux doing something romantic for their anniversary but his dream self was still unconvinced that Sollux even knew.

Sollux held him close. After a bit he shifted away, pushing a bee pillow into his arms as he went downstairs to make breakfast. Soon enough he carried a tray with the food on it upstairs.

Karkat cuddled the bee plushy tightly, not realizing in his sleep that it wasn't Sollux. "Sollux..." He whimpered as he slept, pulling the blanket further around him.

Sollux set the tray down and crawled back in bed, wrapping his arms around Karkat gently, kissing his cheek and then his neck. "KK..."

"No." He groaned, not wanting to leave Sollux's arms.

"I made you breakfatht." he said.

"Not moving, Captor." He said, curling further into Sollux's chest.

"You don't have to." he said. "I brought it to you. Breakfatht in bed."

"Why?" He asked, confused. 'What in the hell possessed you to make me breakfast in bed?'

"Happy anniverthary KK." he whispered into his ear, kissing it gently.

Karkat's eyes shot open. "Sollux... Happy anniversary." He whispered, shifting so he could sit up. "I love you."

Sollux smiled, wrapping his arms around him tightly. "Love you too."

He smiled at his matesprit. "I need to sit up so I can eat."

He shifted, letting him sit up. He brought the tray over, having enough food on it for two.

"It smells good." He said softly, picking up the fork. "Want me to feed you like I used to?"

"I can eat." he smiled. "But I won't object to it." he said, picking up a piece of fruit.

Karkat smiled softly, picking up a piece of bacon and holding it in front of Sollux's mouth. "Ah."

Sollux laughed a little bit, opening his mouth full of fanged teeth.

He giggled as he feed him the slice of bacon. "Is it good?" He asked, a wide grin on his face.

"Of courthe." he said, holding out the piece of fruit to Karkat. "Aah~"

Karkat opened his mouth, putting his hands between his open legs and closing his eyes as the fruit was put into his mouth. "Mmm~" He smiled as he ate the fruit.

Sollux grinned, holding out another.

He let Sollux feed him a few more times before he held a fork full of eggs up to his matesprit. "Here, Honey Bee."

Sollux ate them quietly, leaning against Karkat. "Thith ith really romantic thomehow."

He simply nodded, smiling at his matesprit. "Happy anniversary, Sollux."

The pair ate their breakfast together quietly, giggling every once in a while. Before they knew it an hour had passed.

"How is it only 9:30?" Karkat asked, looking at the alarm clock with disbelief. He sighed and leaned against his matesprit. "I thought it was at least noon..."

"I gueth we got up early." He said. He pulled him close, leaning his head on Karkat's chest. "Mmm..."

"Comfy?" He whispered, feeling a purr coming. He had started to feel a little sick after eating the bacon but he didn't want to ruin the time he had with his matesprit so he didn't think about his stomach. His phone started to go off. "Hello?"

"Is this Karkat Vantas?"

"Yes?"

"Gamzee Makara was in a wreck. He's being taken to the hospital right now."


End file.
